BIG GAME 131 



think I am more bloodthirsty than the ordinary 

 mortal, possibly I may be even less so, but I con- 

 fess to feeling a thrill of exultant satisfaction when a 

 successful shot has crowned a long stalk, in which 

 one has crawled and wriggled to find concealment 

 behind a tuft of grass, or, standing up, has tried to 

 assume the air and appearance of an acacia-tree. 

 In the course of my first stalk I came across a 

 family hunting-party of half a dozen meerkats — 

 charming little creatures like mongooses, with stripes 

 across their backs. They stood bolt upright on 

 their hind legs to get a good view of me, and were 

 as much interested in me as I was in them. Need- 

 less to say, they distracted all attention from the 

 object of the chase, a big water-buck, which caught 

 sight of me and departed, showing a less confiding 

 interest in humanity than did the meerkats. How- 

 ever, a successor to him was found not far distant, 

 and I soon experienced the joy of my first ' head ' ; 

 the thought of it is treasured with the memories of 

 my first trout and my first snow mountain. 



From Karimi a long day's march brought us to 

 the Lumi River, the first considerable tributary that 

 the Semliki receives from the west of Ruwenzori. 

 Here the officer of our escort took most elaborate 

 precautions to guard against a night attack, which 

 he felt confident would be made upon us. He in- 

 formed us that a few weeks previously he had been 

 attacked there at night by some five hundred natives, 

 and that with eleven soldiers he had repulsed them 



9—2 



