206 SPORT IN THE EASTERN SUDAN 



when I again visited the maya, I saw a few reed- 

 buck, but none worth shooting. It is a great place 

 for ariel, which feed there like flocks of sheep. Fresh 

 tracks of lion in the bed of the Kahad. 



April 7ih. Spent the night in bed. Milk being 

 short, in the morning I sent back I. and F. M. to 

 fetch two milch-goats and three kids from Shammam, 

 giving them 16 dollars for the purpose. Spent the 

 morning constructing a machan between the maya 

 and the Rahad. A. R. has been laid up for some 

 days now with a swollen knee ; and groans loudly 

 whenever I am within hearing a provoking habit of 

 Indian domestics. I am prescribing hot fomentations 

 and Elliman's. In the afternoon I returned to the 

 maya, but only saw the moderate reedbuck, besides 

 oribi and ariel. In the evening I went to the machan 

 for an all-night sitting. 



April 8th. Spent a fruitless night in the machan. 

 A leopard roared within 200 yards and a lion in the 

 distance; but the goat declined to bleat. In the 

 morning I prospected along the left bank of the 

 Rahad, but saw nothing save oribi and ariel. 

 Finally I set fire to a large reed-patch, where lion- 

 tracks were numerous; but nothing showed except 

 female reedbuck, a large sort of mongoose, and, I 

 think, a serval, which did not give a shot. I then 

 went to the maya for ariel. There were over a hundred 



