64 Three Months' Leave in Somali Land. 



9th March, Friday. — Went out after aoid in 

 the morning. Saw a herd of about ten, near a 

 nullah, and told my men to walk round them so 

 as to make them move towards the nullah. This 

 being a new form of circumventing antelope to 

 the Somali shikaries, they would not believe it 

 could work, so they went about 200 yards and sat 

 down behind a bush, leaving the aoul to feed 

 about at their own sweet will. After lying on 

 my stomach in the sun for about three-quarters 

 of an hour, I concluded something was wrong 

 and tried a long shot, 300 yards sight, 303, taking 

 it fairly full, went over ; buck did not know 

 where the shot came from (smokeless powder) 

 and stood still ; took a fine sight, aimed low and 

 hit him or grazed him in the stomach, I think ; 

 fired four more shots at various distances up to 

 400 yards without hitting him again ; followed 

 him a long way across the open plain but could 

 not get near, and as he did not seem a bit the 

 worse I gave it up. Marched in the afternoon 

 for two and three-quarter hours, nearly north, 

 just a little west. A starving Somali boy who 

 has been hanging round my camp for some days 

 getting what he could, followed me. I was 



