62 SPORT AND TRAVEL PAPERS 



small tributary which entered close by was trampled over its 

 whole extent, the deep impressions of the ponderous feet were 

 everywhere ; but since one of their number had been killed, all 

 hope of meeting the noble game in this vicinity was, of course, 

 gone ; once disturbed, the herd will travel for days and days, 

 and seek a haven of rest far, far away. 



The sun was very hot, so we decided on resting for a short 

 time in the shade ; the horses were watered and then allowed to 

 graze on the coarse grass growing upon the banks. The men at 

 once set to work collecting the nuts of the dome-palm, a great 

 favourite with them, and now ripe. This palm, which every- 

 where here fringes the river bank, is at this season of the year a 

 constant source of food supply to the Arabs, who knock off the 

 fruit hanging down in bunches from the leafy crown with their 

 sticks. This fruit, about the size of a large apple, has a hard, 

 shiny, brownish-red covering, which, when cut off with a knife 

 or the sharp edge of a spear, discloses a softer though very dry 

 fibrous substance, tasting somewhat like gingerbread which has 

 lain in the sun for a considerable time. Inside this eatable part 

 again is a very hard kernel, enclosing an ivory-like seed, which, 

 after being soaked in water, is eaten by man and cattle. The 

 slender stem of the dome-palm divides at a certain height into 

 two branches, and these again, perhaps, into two others, always 

 forming a Y. The crown is a dense mass of fan-shaped leaves, 

 from which the fruit hangs in clusters of often as many as a 

 hundred nuts. When young the trunk is clothed in dead hang- 

 ing leaves, which gradually drop off, leaving it perfectly bare. 

 While the men were busily employed collecting and eating the 

 fruit, I had sought the shelter of some overhanging rocks close 

 to one of the pools, curious to know what thirsty creatures would 

 pay it a visit. Of course, the antelopes and gazelles had long 

 since disappeared, and it being past noon others could hardly be 

 expected. Still, I soon began to wish that I was better versed 

 in ornithology, and knew the names and characteristics of the 

 great variety of feathered denizens of the jungle, which, at first 

 startled at my approach, soon returned from all around in 

 swarms, of all sizes and of every hue, some displaying the most 

 gorgeous plumage. From their perch on the adjacent trees and 

 rocks they would dash down to the pool, hesitate for a moment, 

 and then walk to the edge of the water, chattering all the while, 



