214 DAYS AND NIGHTS BY THE DESERT. 



a blanket ; and, remember, this is in a country pro- 

 verbial for bad scent. 



They could not have been unaware of my 

 presence, but it did not alter their purpose they 

 were hunting to kill, and were resolved to do it. 



This episode caused my little guide to desert 

 me ; but as I return to the trail I may say that 

 there are two honey-birds, the larger and smaller, 

 the latter being my late friend. Le Vaillant gave 

 it the name of Le petit indicateur, which appears 

 to me more appropriate than the classical synonyms 

 that it has more recently received. The edges of 

 the Kalihari are its favourite haunts, and although 

 so partial to honey, in my belief its more frequent 

 food is bees or emmets ; in gratifying its taste for 

 the former the natives say that often the plucky 

 little creature gets stung to death. Its costume 

 is a sombre brown, so that when at rest it would 

 scarcely attract the attention of the ordinary way- 

 farer. 



Soon after joining the waggons, the country had 

 undergone quite a change ; for, in place of compara- 

 tively dead flats, rolling hills, certainly of no great 

 elevation, surrounded us, and these were fairly 

 covered with trees. 



We had been warned to look out for lions here, 

 so took every precaution to prevent our being taken 

 by surprise, by keeping the spare cattle and horses 

 well together, with our powerful lanterns in full 



