THE ENDLESS VELDT 151 



animals had become accustomed to us and did not 

 seek cover when we approached. Their confidence in 

 us would have been destroyed immediately if any shoot- 

 ing was done in their vicinity, and should one of them 

 have been killed, the balance of the troop would have, 

 no doubt, left the country for good. 



During all the period of our almost daily contacts, 

 none of the party ever attempted to use anything 

 against these hons more deadly than a camera; not 

 only because this would have put an end to our pic- 

 ture taking, but because they looked upon us as friends 

 and we were honor bound to treat them as such. We 

 always feared that sometime during our absence a 

 hunting party might happen along and upon having 

 eight Hons rush out to meet them, would think they 

 were being attacked and shoot the entire lot. Now 

 we were really worried, for we had been to the donga 

 several times without finding them. 



The morning after our hoHday, during which every- 

 one shaved and one man took a bath, we returned to 

 make another search for them. Upon arrival at the 

 donga it looked as if our wild friends had left the 

 district for good, but we made a last search, dragging 

 a topi behind the truck and circling the ravine as we 

 had often done before. After passing all of the old 

 favorite places, without a sight of our hons, we had 

 given up hope and were preparing to turn homeward 

 when I espied a tawny head and shoulders half hidden in 

 the grass. I shouted to Mike to steer that way, and as 

 the truck neared the spot another head appeared and 

 then two more — we had found part of our old troop. 



In a short time they were all around us again; one 

 lioness even came to He down in the shade of the 



