XIV FINDING THE MAN-EATERS’ DEN 157 
had deceived me and made me imagine a_ black 
bank and a few rushes to be a living animal. We 
now left the bed of the ravine, and advanced along 
the top. This turned out to be a good move, for 
soon we heard the galloping of a herd of some 
animal or other across our front. I rushed round a 
corner in the path a few yards ahead, and crouching 
under the bushes saw a line of startled zebras 
flying past. This was the first time I had seen 
these beautifully marked animals in their wild state, 
so I selected the largest and fired, and as I was 
quite close to them he dropped in his tracks stone- 
dead. When I stood over the handsome creature [| 
was positively sorry for having killed him. Not so 
Moota, however, who rushed up in ecstasy, and 
before I could stop him had cut his throat. This 
was done, as he remarked, ‘‘to make the meat 
lawful,” for Moota was a devout follower of the 
Prophet, and no true Mohammedan will eat the 
flesh of any animal unless the throat has been cut 
at the proper place and the blood allowed to flow. 
This custom has often caused me great annoyance, 
for Mohammedan followers rush in so quickly when 
an animal is shot and cut the head off so short that 
it is afterwards quite useless as a trophy. 
By the time the zebra was skinned, darkness was 
fast approaching, so we selected a suitable tree in 
>? 
which to pass the night. Under it we built a 
