88 LIFE WITH THE HAMRAN ARABS. 



yellow, with wrinkled surface and dry like a biscuit, with 

 one large stone in it ; and the only fault then to be found 

 with it is, that there is too much stone and too little 

 biscuit. 



Vivian has made an important addition to our at 

 present very meagre collection of the insect world, by 

 finding a creature, in shape, colour, and almost in vitality, 

 exactly like a piece of straw with giant legs, and having 

 a body about four inches long. There is very little 

 prospect of our making a good entomological collection, 

 for after returning from shooting we are only too glad 

 to rest quietly ; and if there are any good specimens to 

 be found, they certainly have an unhappy knack of keep- 

 ing well out of sight, and would require much time to be 

 specially devoted to them. 



Jan. 27. Again we have to thank Vivian for the 

 excitement of the day, and for keeping our people in 

 their present state of high spirits ; for, besides shooting 

 a ' ratel ' that he made bolt from its hole by a lighted 

 whisp of straw, and then knocked over with a ball from 

 his big ' smooth-bore,' he has also killed the first buffalo. 



His hunter Mohamed, after a quiet stalk, found him 

 alone and asleep, and then, calling up Vivian, they 

 managed to creep within sixty yards of him. At this 

 moment he awoke from his morning nap and stood up, 

 and, surprised to see visitors, steadfastly surveyed them. 

 Again the ten-bore did its duty, and sending a bullet 



