74 SERVICE AND SPORT IN THE SUDAN 



it. His news, the minutest detail was of interest to 

 me, was interlarded with this suggestion. Dear old 

 Hagana ! 



The lover of animals will ask how poor "Tops," 

 my pony, used to fare at night. He had a good 

 hut as a stable, and in Dinka fashion, after every 

 chink had been stopped up, a dung fire would be 

 left lighted in it, the smoke of which drove av/ay 

 mosquitoes. An officer who tried this method for 

 himself told me it was very good when one was 

 accustomed to it. 



One of the compensations for a solitary life at an 

 out-station is the big-game shooting. As soon as I 

 could I started inquiries, and from one of the sailors 

 on the gyassa belonging to the Government I learned 

 that there was nothing to be found on the right bank 

 of the river (on which the station was), as it was 

 inhabited by sedentary Dinkas, whereas the left bank, 

 occasionally occupied by nomadic Selim Baggara 

 Arabs, held a fair amount. Some hours before dawn 

 one night I left the shelter of my mosquito curtains, 

 and getting on the gyassa sailed a short way up the 

 river, and landed on the opposite bank. It was still 

 dark. On landing we were rejoined by hordes of 

 mosquitoes from which the breeze on the river had 

 freed us while in mid-stream. 



Following the sailor, who posed as a shikari, I 

 plunged into a wood, and, just as things were be- 

 ginning to become more distinct in the first break 

 of dawn, I heard a sound like an irregular hammering. 

 I soon discovered the cause. Two young bull water- 



