AFRICAN CAMP FIRES 



panses and clear air we could thus often make out] 

 a very far-off herd simply as a speck of rich colour ■ 

 against the boundless rolling plains. 



Here we saw a good variety of game. Zebras of 

 course, and hartebeeste; the Robert's gazelle, a few 

 topi, a good many of the gnu or wildebeeste dis- 

 covered by and named after Roosevelt; a few giraffes, 

 klipspringer on the rocky buttes, cheetah, and the 

 usual jackals, hyenas, etc. I killed one very old 

 zebra. So ancient was he that his teeth had worn 

 down to the level of the gums, which seemed fairly 

 on the point of closing over. Nevertheless he was 

 still fat and sleek. He could not much longer have 

 continued to crop the grass. Such extreme age in 

 wild animals is, in Africa at least, most remarkable; 

 for generally they meet violent deaths while still 

 in their prime. 



About three o'clock of the third afternoon we came 

 in sight of a long line of forest trees running down 

 parallel with the nearest mountain ranges. These 

 marked the course of the Narossara; and by four 

 o'clock we were descending the last slope. 



292 



