THE WHITE-EARED COB 169 



at Kurwa (10 miles inland), was a magnificent savage, 

 both in appearance and manners. 



Tall, lean, spectral figures were these Shilluks, many 

 appearing 7 feet in height, lithe of limb as greyhounds, and 

 all stark naked merely coated in red or yellow clay, or 

 blanched with the grey wood-ash in which they make their 

 lairs. Some had ostrich-plumes waving aloft, and each 

 carried a handful of murderous spears. An antecedent 

 incident deserves passing note. After that wild joint 

 hunt, we had assembled beneath a grove of shade-trees. 

 Baraka and Abdul were busy off-skinning, and I was 

 having lunch ; our weird auxiliaries squatted in a circle 

 around. A strange trilateral group we formed ! Though 

 none of the triplice spoke the other's tongue, yet conversa- 

 tion flowed continuous, Arab, savage, and Britisher all 

 discussing the hunt. Fierce-looking as they appear and 

 assuredly would be in a scrimmage yet these simple, 

 stark, unsophisticated examples of a species in evolution 

 revealed a nice sense of "manners." Curiosity, it was 

 clear, was their main mental pre-occupation ; yet an 

 innate sense restrained its undue display. After a while, 

 however, I felt just a gentle touch on my foot, and found 

 that an inquiring black hand sought to investigate 

 the mystery of British shooting-boots ! Undoubtedly the 

 owner of that hand was intent on ascertaining whether 

 leather foot-gear forms an integral part of the anatomy 

 of the white man. 



Of the four animals secured that day, two were as 

 black as these cobs ever become at this point of their 

 range (specimens marked D and E in tabulated list at end 

 of chapter) ; at any rate, these two were selected as the 

 blackest seen to-day among many hundreds. Closer 

 examination disclosed the surprising fact that the two 

 blackest bucks were actually the poorest in horn of the 

 four ! A beautifully brindled animal (}, specially selected 

 as representing the intermediate type, taped nearly two 

 inches more on the horn ; while a purely fawn-coloured 



