4 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



of the herd by its comrades, and will eventually die a slow, 

 painful death, unless it is killed by a lion, leopard, hyena, 

 or pack of wild dogs. 



Having compared British East Africa with this country, 

 I will now go on to give an account of making a camp in 

 the wilderness. In North-Eastern Rhodesia and Nyasaland 

 I have made several big camps, as it is most uncomfortable 

 being in a tent always. A tent is either too hot or too 

 cold, and it is always a cramped abode for anyone liking a 

 fair amount of space. Besides, a man cannot keep healthy 

 in a tent during the rainy season, as the ground is usually 

 damp and sodden. So, without a preliminary description 

 of how I got there, except to say that it was on my legs 

 and not by machilla, I will bring my reader to a spot in the 

 African bush situated near the source of the Bua River in 

 Nyasaland. 



On the journey from Blantyre I had shot a considerable 

 amount of game for my " boys " (all native servants are 

 called "boys" here), and once I had heard a lion grunting 

 early in the morning near the Rivi-Rivi stream. 



I left the path to look for this lion, but he did not " speak" 

 again, and as the ground was hard and stony I could not 

 find his tracks, so I failed to get a shot. On getting to 

 Memeza's village (this chief is a son of Mpseni, the late 

 paramount chief of the Angoni race living in this district), 

 I rented a fair-sized native hut, as I knew it would take 

 about two months to build my camp, and my single fly 

 "Whymper" tent was rather old and weather-worn, and I 

 wished to keep it for further shooting trips. Besides, as I 

 have mentioned, life in a tent is uncomfortable over a long 

 time. 



A thatched hut, if clean and free from fleas and other 

 human tormentors, is a much better habitation in every 

 way, but I knew from much past experience that the rats 

 and village dogs and pigs would prove a nuisance. 



Of all tropical pests I w T ould give the ubiquitous rat first 

 place, as these dirty vermin are fearful destroyers of all 

 property. I have had the following and other articles gnawed 



