206 SPORT IN ASIA AND AFRICA 



sulky and would not exert himself, and the 

 Askari left him and went to the place where we 

 had established the standing camp, which was, 

 as he thought, our destination. We halted, how- 

 ever, short of the place, and the Askari turned 

 up at the tents late in the evening without the 

 man. It was an unpleasant predicament, as, if 

 anything had happened to the man we should 

 doubtless have been blamed. The early part 

 of the night was pitch dark, but at one o'clock 

 the moon rose, and we sent out a rescue party, 

 promising the men a reward if they should find 

 him and bring him in. He was found not far 

 from our camp, having made himself comfortable 

 for the night, with a small thorn-hedge round him. 

 After this he was carried for some days more ; 

 and, when he was again ordered to walk, he 

 deserted as soon as he reached the first Meru 

 village. 



The late Major Welby, in his interesting book, 

 'Twixt Sardar and Menelek, says that, in his 

 journey from Abyssinia to Khartum, he and 

 his men crossed many streams and rivers, which 

 were full of crocodiles, and that one of their 

 sheep only was taken. ** My own opinion," 

 he says, '* is that, in entering water overrun with 

 alligators, the chances are highly in favour of 

 coming out again in safety." Major Welby was 

 fortunate, and we may have been unfortunate, 

 in our experiences ; but I certainly would not 

 recommend anyone to put his theory to the test 

 on the lower reaches of the Guaso Nyiro River. 



I shot my two buffaloes without difficulty. 

 Tagarru, though he had no fear of a rhinoceros. 



