XXVIII 



STALKING IN THE NYIKA 



1HAVE hundreds of times followed the big and 

 small African game, sometimes with but oftener 

 without success. I shall describe only a few of my 

 hunting expeditions ; they will suffice to give the reader 

 a fairly good idea of the difficulty and the fascination 

 of stalking in the Nyika. 



With the break of day I leave my camp, accompanied 

 by thirty to forty carriers, each one supplied with a 

 gourd of water. Silently and in single file we follow our 

 Wandorobbo guides. Close behind me are the natives 

 who carry my photographic apparatus and my rifles. 

 My men are all trained to prostrate themselves at a 

 given signal and to remain flat on the ground. 



When leaving the camp one does not know whether 

 it will not be necessary to spend the night in the open 

 steppe. A supply of matches is therefore taken along 

 in a small bag, unless we want to resort to the primitive 

 way in which the Masai and Wandorobbo light a fire, 

 by rubbing two pieces of wood against each other until 

 they are hot enough to light a bunch of dry grass. My 



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