66 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



down the sandy beds, and this is hard work, as the sand is 

 often more than ankle deep and very hot. However, it is 

 softer and cooler than the hard, stony ground, and the 

 natives like to get to such places, which afford easy 

 going for a time. 



Near the Luangwa River, in North-Eastern Rhodesia, I 

 have often seen the ground so hard and hot that it caused 

 pain to touch it with the hand, and the sand was often so 

 heated that a handful could not be retained for long. Rifle- 

 barrels, tin boxes, and, indeed, all metal objects were 

 untouchable at times, and I have seen the oil oozing out 

 of my rifle-stocks with the intense heat. 



A native path is always preferable to a broad road, as it 

 is more shady, and, being curved, it is not so monotonous 

 to walk along. 



For the man who rides a bicycle, the broad, hoed road 

 will be best, but, personally, I would much rather walk 

 along a twisting native path than on the European road. 



Many is the shot at game one will get while tramping 

 along these native footpaths, especially if there early in the 

 morning or late in the evening, when the game has not 

 retired to lie up, or when it again gets on the move as the 

 heat of midday decreases. 



On the evening of September 21 I went out and saw 

 a lot of game, including a large herd of kudu. They were 

 some way off when I first noticed them, but the ground 

 was covered with many anthills, so, with a good deal of 

 crawling, I got to within shooting range and loosed off at 

 the only bull I saw. As the bush was very thick where the 

 kudus were standing, I could not see the horns of the male 

 well. Anyhow, my bullet told, and the stricken animal ran 

 a short way and stopped to look back, when a second 

 bullet dropped him. 



As it was too late to skin and cut up the game, I covered 

 him with grass, and befo.re I left I tied my handkerchief to 

 a bush close to the carcass. Early next morning the men 

 I sent for the meat found that no carnivorous animal had 

 interfered with it during the night. 



