414 LARGE GAME. CHAP. ix. 



the natives "Itendele;" a smaller kind called "Iswempe;" 

 and the Natal pheasant (Francolinus Natalensis, where it 

 is supposed to represent F. clamator), known as the 

 " Inkwali." It is unnecessary to say much about the 

 former, distributed as it is all over the world. In Africa 

 it is found both on the plains and in the thorn jungles 

 in sufficient quantities to afford very fair sport ; twenty 

 brace, or even more, being easily killed in many places. 

 They never form large coveys, as our English birds do, 

 and the young brood separates very soon after they have 

 become independent. Horses, trained for the purpose, 

 are generally used for shooting them, partly on account of 

 the great extent of country which has to be gone over, 

 necessitating very widely ranging dogs, and partly because 

 colonial dogs are so unsteady that if they are kept long 

 at their point, they are very apt to flush their birds. 



The iswempe is a more rare and smaller bird, being 

 about the size of a woodcock, and is found, almost exclu- 

 sively, in damp rank bottoms where the grass is long, 

 out of which it is difficult to flush them. It is very deli- 

 cate eating, and therefore highly prized, though, numeri- 

 cally speaking, they do not afford much sport, a brace or 

 two during a day being the average. 



The inkwali is, on the contrary, an extremely fine 

 bird, often weighing from three to four pounds, and mea- 

 suring thirteen or fourteen inches, with dark mottled 

 plumage and a brown back; being also capital eating, 

 the flavour something resembling that of a grouse. Like 

 others of the same genus, they are to be found in all 

 jungle, whether forest or thorn, though they more usually 

 frequent the former. It is difficult to flush them, as they 



