DARING OF A KITE. 27 1 



frequently followed, especially with a valuable gun, 

 for such gritty substances can scarcely fail to be 

 injurious to the barrels. When the sun was about 

 attaining its full power, a very dark cloud appeared 

 directly to windward. We were not long kept in 

 ignorance of its composition, being locusts, for it 

 rapidly drew towards the camp, and was followed by 

 thousands and thousands of birds, of which black 

 kites (Milvus migrans\ hobbies (Falco vespertinus) 

 and innumerable bee-eaters of different species, 

 seemed to preponderate in numbers. As the na- 

 turalist Andersson states he did on a similar occa- 

 sion, I took a section of the sky to enumerate, and 

 came to the conclusion that there must have been 

 more than ten thousand birds in pursuit of these 

 destructive insects. 



However, the flight passed off to the south-west of 

 our camp, but not without an example being afforded 

 us of the fearless intrepidity of one of the kites. 

 William had been pounding for a time with un- 

 remitting exertion a piece of meat destined for my 

 supper. For some reason he was called away, but 

 before going he placed the steak upon the table 

 at which I was sitting, and only a few inches 

 from my elbow, when a rush through the atmo- 

 sphere occurred, that it almost took away my 

 breath to listen to, and before I could recover 

 from my surprise, and be prompt enough to 

 baulk the marauder, the kite was up in the air a 

 hundred feet or more, with my intended meal in its 

 possession. 



That was not half as ludicrous as a similar centre- 

 temps I saw on the Tugila during the Zulu war. A 

 young Scotch soldier, evidently very lately brought 

 from his Highland home, was carrying a piece of 

 beef, suspended from a stick over his shoulder. No 

 doubt the recruit anticipated a good feed, for he had 

 a most self-satisfied expression on his broad, healthy- 



