BAD SPORT AND BAD WEATHER. 127 



enter a house and satiate our appetites with bacon and 

 maize bread. The information we obtained about the 

 game was not very encouraging ; they all seek shelter 

 in the thickest coppices, or among the reeds to avoid 

 the flies and mosquitoes, which persecute the poor 

 creatures incessantly; but we could not now change 

 our plans, so marched steadfastly on. The farmers were 

 quite right ; we did not see any deer, or any traces of 

 them ; a poor partridge, perched on a tree, as is cus- 

 tomary with the American partridges, and looking at 

 us with inquiring eyes, was our only sport. 



In the afternoon the sky became covered with dark 

 clouds, to our great delight, because it made the air so 

 much cooler. In the evening we saw the first turkey. 

 He was crossing our path, and stood still when he saw 

 us : Uhl fired and missed ; so our turkey made his bow 

 and departed. 



Heavy rain came on with the night, and we were 

 very glad to find an old deserted house, where at least 

 we could keep ourselves dry. We made a glorious fire, 

 and the rain holding up for a short time, we washed 

 our clothes, which soon dried by the blaze we had 

 made. "We then broiled the partridge in the iron 

 spoon that we carried with us for melting lead, 

 sprinkled it with powder for want of salt, and discussed 

 it under the mournful feeling of " only one bird for two 

 men." 



The next mornino; brouo;ht with it better weather, 

 and an excessively bad road, the rain having all but 

 destroyed it ; a few miles from our night's quarters we 

 came to a house, in which we could at least satisfy our 

 hunger. As the roads were so bad, we decided on 



