A HUNTER'S CAMP-FIRES 



and pounding of hoofs was only occasionally varied by a mo- 

 mentary glimpse of black through a network of leaves and 

 branches. Early in the afternoon I succeeded in w^ounding 

 another of the bulls by firing the heavy rifle in the direction of 

 the noise, but although both buffaloes bled profusely they 

 showed no signs of weakening. At one time we disturbed two 

 rhinos which charged by us, one after the other, only a few 

 yards distant, and were swallowed up immediately in the wall 

 of bush behind. In stampeding through the thickets the buffalo 

 made a great deal more noise than the much larger rhinoceros. 

 About four o'clock the regular afternoon shower came down, 

 obliterating all tracks, and leaving me and my gun-bearer miles 

 from camp, exhausted and with clothing torn into shreds from 

 thorns. Disgusted and sceptical of the harrowing tales of the 

 ferocity of the African buffalo, I reached camp after sundown 

 to find that Fuguet had returned from his hunt up-stream, 

 having secured, among other game, a bull giraffe. 



As remarked before, over this portion of British East Africa 

 roamed a few herds of Grevy's zebra, which had wandered south 

 from the main range of this horse in Abyssinia. This zebra, 

 which is named after a former President of the French Republic, 

 is a great deal larger and much more striking animal than 

 Burchell's zebra, which overruns this part of Africa in count- 

 less herds. A very narrow, fine striping gives the larger animal 

 a solid mouse-gray colored appearance at even a short distance, 

 quite different from the vivid black-and-white bands of the 

 smaller zebra. However, in spite of the striking coloring of Bur- 

 chell's zebra, in the bright light of the African veldt at a dis- 

 tance they are one of the most inconspicuous of animals. Be- 

 yond one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards the stripes 

 are indistinguishable, and blend into a uniform violet-tinted 

 gray, which is difficult to distinguish in the shimmering light 

 of the plains. Often in the distance I have seen hartebeest, 

 ostriches, impala, and oryx with the naked eye, but have not 



