THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 6i 



scrub it was fearful. We debouched on the flat at ten 

 o'clock. Very glad to ease our knees. Marched an 

 hour longer and came at eleven o'clock to an ordinary 

 mudpuddle in an opening of the scrub. The guide 

 said it was the only water in that part of the country. 

 Many zebra, wildebeeste, and impalla, and hundreds of 

 game and other birds were here gathered. Since we 

 must either camp here or push on to the N'gouramani, 

 Cuninghame and I crawled under the shade of a bush 

 to await the safari. 



One sort of small brown bird with a very long tail were 

 so abundant that when they flew they roared like the 

 wind, and the aggregate weight of them actually bent 

 over a fair-sized sapling. This is literal. 



When the safari arrived we tackled the mudpuddle. 

 First, we dug a ditch and drained off all the foul water. 

 Then we extended the hole. This accomplished, 

 MembaSasa planted a staff in the middle tied peculiarly 

 with wisps of grass — a sort of magic, in which, appar- 

 ently, everybody firmly believed. In a little while 

 the hole began to fill again. Overjoyed with this indi- 

 cation that it was a real spring and not merely a rain 

 puddle, we pitched camp. 



After lunch and a rest Cuninghame and I scouted in 

 different directions. I wounded an impalla which got 

 away; the second beast to escape. Saw many impalla, 

 zebra, wildebeeste, waterbuck, Grant's gazelle, dik-dik, 

 and game birds. Also an ostrich nest with two eggs. 



