CHRISTMAS IN CAMP AT KADDAI 339 



us to jump out of bed suddenly and retreat farther inland. 

 This was our first experience of being caught napping by 

 the invading Lake, and it struck us as very strange and 

 weird, for one would have expected water driven all that 

 distance by the influence of the wind to have given warning 

 of its coming with the lapping noise of waves, but there was 

 not a sound of a ripple as it swiftly stole up the land. Upon 

 this trip in particular, Talbot noticed numbers of dead and 

 dying fish, some 4 lb. in weight, floating upon the water, a 

 not uncommon sight anywhere on the Lake ; they were the 

 victims of a large stinging fish. On catching sight of the 

 carcases, the " boys " used to make for them and collect 

 them for their supper, not passing by even those that had 

 been drifting long enough to make their presence felt 

 upon the air. But all the "boys" had to yield the 

 palm in this respect to one of the biggest of the 

 Nupe polers, whom they nicknamed " Kurra," or the 

 Jackal, for his voracious appetite and predilection for 

 carrion. 



Now and again along the plain I saw the pretty sight of 

 a party of five or six white-rumped Dorcas Gazelle, feeding 

 among the maio bush. These are by far the most interesting 

 of the Sudan gazelles. They are extremely shy, and it 

 requires very careful stalking to get within range of them. 

 Their hind-quarters and legs are pure white and make a sudden 

 contrast to the rest of the body, which is an almost uniform 

 chestnut merging at a distance into the surroundings, so 

 that their forms are difficult to make out, especially 

 through the haze of the prevalent mirage. Several times 

 under these conditions we mistook them for natives in white 



