Sport in East Africa. 309 



got through the job in good time, but lost the speci- 

 mens after all, as my people left them out in the 

 heavy dew and rain, the skins rotted and were 

 useless. I never saw any like them afterwards, 

 though I have been told by a lay missionary, who is 

 also a capital sportsman, that he had shot very many 

 of them at times and in different localities in Africa. 

 I led the way, one of the men acting as guide, and 

 from two till five we went through shamba after 

 shamba (plantations) of cocoa-nuts, mangoes (which 

 are in this part of Africa, as well as Lakoja on the 

 Niger, most excellent and bear three crops a year, so 

 that a tree is never without this delicious fruit), 

 and manioc ; so as I was told there was a scarcity 

 of water ahead, we camped on the edge of the plateau. 

 Ahead of us there was a rolling and undulating plain, 

 covered here and there with thorny bushes, long grass, 

 and now and then with dwarfed mimosa, Indian bau- 

 bul, which yields the gum arabica of commerce. The 

 country was cut up by ravines, and must be very 

 difficult to cross in the rains ; even now I could 

 discern a distant pool here and there. I asked if 

 there was any game there, but was told not at that 

 season ; later on there would be herds and herds of 

 various antelope, the hideous hartebeeste predom- 

 inating. I inquired about the road to Shimba, where 

 I was going, and was told there was nothing to be 

 shot en route. Following the native path, it would 

 take us a good twelve hours' marching to get there. 

 The hills were right in front of us, could we not get 

 there direct by a short cut across country ? No ; we 

 must follow the native paths. Seeing water about, I 

 thought if we went past the pools we might find 



