236 THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 



each with its waterhole below, from which Hnes of 

 girls, stark naked, were carrying water in gourds of all 

 sizes.* About ten o 'clock we deserted the slope of the 

 mountain and struck down and across a bushy flat 

 toward distant blue mountains in the west. At 

 twelve, as we still had encountered nothing but bush, 

 we set down the safari and scattered to find water. 

 Nothing can describe the intense heat of noon in this 

 country. Beats anything in British East Africa. Sun 

 is very powerful, and the earth radiates like a grate. 

 Thermometers do not begin to indicate it. After an 

 hour 's search found a pool of mud flavoured with dung 

 (to which we are quite accustomed) . Also saw ten roan. 

 About four o 'clock I started for the necessary meat, 

 though it was still hot enough to cook eggs. Found a 

 perfectly open plain where were hundreds of topi and a 

 few Tommy, but nothing else. Amused myself (al- 

 though the beasts were fairly approachable) by long- 

 range shooting at single beasts. First miss then hit at 

 320 yards, then two raking hits at closer range ac- 

 counted for the first. The second took two at 330, 

 Then I saw a Tommy that looked good and killed it at 

 211. Proved to be what is probably the record for 

 East Africa, sixteen and five eighth inches. A thirteen- 

 inch horn is good for British East Africa, and world's 

 record is somewhere about seventeen inches. 



* Why these people do not build somewhere near the water, 1 do not know. 

 They almost never do. Perhaps they Hke to keep their women busy. 



