THE LOWER BENCHES 



twenty-five men and selected the twelve best and 

 strongest. These we offered a month and a half's 

 extra wages for the trip. We then made a hammock 

 out of one of the ground cloths, and the same after- 

 noon Cuninghame started. I sent with him four of 

 my own men as far as the ox-wagon for the purpose 

 of bringing back more potio. They returned the 

 next afternoon, bringing also a report from Cuning- 

 hame that all was well so far, and that he had seen 

 a lion. He made the desert trip without other casu- 

 alty than the loss of his riding mule; and landed the 

 wounded man in the hospital all right. In spite of 

 Cuninghame's expert care on the journey out, and 

 the best of treatment later, the boy, to my great 

 distress, died eleven days after reaching the hospital. 

 Cuninghame was gone just two weeks. 



In the meantime I sent out my best trackers in 

 all directions to look for kudu signs, conceiving this 

 the best method of covering the country rapidly. 

 In this manner I shortly determined that chances 

 were small here; and made up my mind to move 

 down to the edge of the bench where the Narossara 

 makes its plunge. Before doing so, however, I 

 hunted for and killed a very large eland bull reported 

 by Mavrouki. This beast was not only one of the 

 largest I ever saw, but was in especially fine coat. 

 He stood five feet and six inches high at the shoulder; 



305 



