292 AFRICA SPEAKS 



On another occasion in this same locahty, we beheld 

 a picture that will long remain in my memory. In a 

 beautiful green glade near a water hole stood an enor- 

 mous drove of impaUa, a large group of eland, several 

 giraffes, while hundreds of zebras, kongoni, and tom- 

 mies were grazing near by. Before we could film this 

 happy family, a gust of wind announced our presence. 

 The animals took to flight in all directions. One 

 bull giraffe, who was so old he had nearly turned black, 

 became confused, running toward us instead of away, 

 enabhng me to obtEiin some excellent views, for he 

 passed so close to the camera that I just managed to 

 get him all on the film. We then followed the herd of 

 mixed eland and impalla, both of these agile animals 

 performing their feats of leaping as they bounded 

 away. They crossed a rocky donga, which forced us 

 to make a long detour, during which they escaped. 



A great deal of this virgin country resembled a culti- 

 vated park, maldng it hard to realize that we were in 

 the wilds of Africa. Gently roUing hills of velvet- 

 smooth grass, with clumps of small trees dotted here 

 and there, swept toward distant mountains of purple 

 and blue. Overhead, wisps of white clouds hung 

 motionless in a clear sky, and scores of vultures circled 

 like monoplanes through this turquoise sea, never 

 moving a wing as they drifted and ghded, while watch- 

 ing life on the veldt below. 



Frequent showers, then a heavy storm warned us it 

 was time to trek into Nairobi. Hurriedly, in the middle 

 of the day, we abandoned camp, scurrying before the 

 wind-blown sheets of rain. The god of storms had at 

 last triumphed, and we were forced to leave our beloved 

 plains of the Serengetti. 



