The Eastern Congo 



during dinner with a fine chorus from across the river, and 

 kept it up at intervals until about the time we all turned 

 in for the night. 



I was the last to go to bed as I set myself the rather tick- 

 lish job of collecting moths with my lamp moth-trap. This 

 consisted of a " Storm-King " gasoline lantern of 300 candle 

 power,* standing in the centre of a four-foot cube-shaped 

 frame-work, with mosquito netting stretched around three 

 sides. As our camp stood on a cHff overlooking the tree 

 tops of the Ruindi, I calculated the edge of this would be a 

 good place to rig up my trap and so here I fixed it. However, 

 towards 9.30 a heavy wind sprang up and blew lamp, table 

 and trap over the cliff into the trees below ; so there I left 

 them — veritabl}^ to the lions, and went to bed to dream of 

 the butterflies and moths that are only seen in dreamland, 

 and of the splendid time I hoped to have " filming " the great 

 game around us. 



It was not my intention to hunt lions in the ordinary 

 sense, but as I passed through the country I hoped to obtain 

 some moving pictures of them. So with this purpose in 

 view, Mr. Fourget and myself would shoot either one or two 

 waterbuck or Uganda kob {Cob74s) in the course of the da3^ 

 and, covering the carcases with leaves to prevent them being 

 eaten by vultures meanwhile, leave them out at night in 

 likely places as bait for lions. We did this on three occasions, 

 but although we saw lions out on the plains, contrary to the 

 experience of the Fosters, none came to our baits. This was 



* This lantern, which has mica in place of glass, and which is fitted with 

 either one or two incandescent rag mantles and burns petrol vapour and air 

 mixed, is the strongest and most economical lamp I know of for all " safari " 

 purposes. The lamp referred to above fell and rolled a good fifty feet over the 

 clifi, but, with the exception of the mantles, was unbroken when picked up. 



IIO 



