THE BUFFALO 



of clear sparkling water, that ran beneath the most 

 beautiful of open jungles, to unite finally in one main 

 stream that disappeared down the canon. Between 

 these brooks were low broad rolling hills, sometimes 

 grass covered, sometimes grown thinly with bushes. 

 Where they headed in the mountains, long stringers 

 of forest trees ran up to blocklike groves, apparently 

 pasted like wafers against the base of the cliffs, but 

 in reality occupying spacious slopes below them. 



We decided to camp at the foot of a long grass slant 

 within a hundred yards of the trees along one of the 

 small streams. Before us we had the sweep of 

 brown grass rising to a clear cut skyline; and all 

 about us the distant great hills behind which the 

 day dawned and fell. One afternoon a herd of 

 giraffes stood silhouetted on this skyline quite a half 

 hour gazing curiously down on our camp. Harte- 

 beeste and zebra swarmed in the grassy openings; 

 and impalla in the brush. We saw sing-sing and 

 steinbuck, and other animals, and heard lions nearly 

 every night. But principally we elected to stay 

 because a herd of buffaloes ranged the foothills and 

 dwelt in the groves of forest trees under the cliffs. 

 We wanted a buffalo; and as Lengeetoto is prac- 

 tically unknown to white men, we thought this a 

 good chance to get one. In that I reckoned without 

 the fact that at certain seasons the Masai bring 



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