INTRODUCTION 



OF BOOKS on African sport and travel truly there is no 

 end. What excuse then, can I make for adding another 

 to their number ? Frankly, my first reason was the pleasure 

 the writing of these notes afforded me. 



My memory has never been a good one, and after years 

 of somewhat hard work, I find, alas! it is less and less 

 serviceable. If I wish to retain vivid impressions myself 

 of what seems worth remembering, or if I wish to convey 

 the result of my impressions to others, I find it necessary 

 to make copious notes at the time. In this way I fell into 

 the habit of writing down as I went along, some account 

 of what I saw, and sometimes of what I heard. 



Then you cannot travel every day and all day, in Africa. 

 There are long hot afternoons to be passed, and occasionally 

 long wet days to be wiled away, and since it is not always 

 easy to carry many books, writing of some sort seems 

 the natural thing to do. 



I fear the results of such a method of writing will be only 

 too apparent in these notes of mine. For notes they were 

 in the first instance, made on horseback (more accurately, 

 mule back) as my faithful burden bearer walked soberly 

 along, or jotted down on my knee, as I called my gunboys 

 to a halt under the shade of some rock or tree, while I did 

 my best to put into hasty form, some word sketch of the 

 strange or beautiful things before me. When I sat down 

 more at my leisure, to reduce to orderly form what I had 

 written, I did not find it always possible to do so. 



I can only, then, plead for the indulgence of my reader, 

 and add, by way of excuse, that what is here put down 

 may claim at least the merit, such as it is, of being the 



XV 



