102 After Big Game in Central Africa 



direction of - And a place, generally thirteen 



miles at the least, is indicated to you with a vague 

 gesture. 



Do not insist : they will not tell you any more. So 

 I have given up asking natives for information. The 

 nature of their answers arises from their ignorance of 

 sport, ignorance to which I have alluded already, and 

 also from their desire to be agreeable to you with- 

 out being able to be so. 



In many places where our renown as hunters pre- 

 cedes us, they enter upon this subject even if we do 

 not touch upon it. They think they are flattering 

 our amour propre by announcing to us that there 

 are many nyama in the neighbourhood. Without 

 giving them time to finish, I begin the sacramental 

 enumeration, in which my men join, in unison: 

 " There are waterbuck, koodoos, elands, wart-hogs, 

 bushbuck, sable antelopes, in the woods." And, with- 

 out paying attention to our bantering air, they say 

 almost always: "Inde! Inde!" "Yes, in fact" 

 looking at each other as much as to say, " They know 

 it already." 



It is useless, therefore, to seek for information from 

 that source. However, as it is desirable to know in 

 what to believe, it is my custom to ask first of all 

 in a village if there is a hunter. I summon him 

 as well as other hunters in neighbouring villages if 



o o o 



they tell me of them ; and, according to their informa- 

 tion, either I take them with me as guides, or I send 

 them away with a small present. 



As guides they receive good payment if their 



