364 Great and Small Game of Africa 



In the Eastern Soudan, near Suakin 



During the piping times of peace, Suakin, the capital of the Red Sea 

 Littoral, is by no means an undesirable quarter for the sportsman, be he 

 military or otherwise. But there have not been many such interludes 

 during the past fifteen years, and when raids are out and the place is on 

 the footing of a fortress, leave of absence for the pursuit of game, amongst 

 the beautiful mountains which lie range on range so temptingly within a 

 dozen miles of the coral beach, is out of the question. Even a hunt along 

 the foreshore, or on the scrub-covered plain which lies at the foothills, is a 

 matter of grave consideration and possible risk. 



It was in October 1897 that I made my first expedition in the direction 

 of the walls of Tiroi and met for the first time the arial of the country. It 

 is not until the ghastly heat of midsummer has been tempered by occasional 

 showers, — tropical showers be it understood, — and the sun has crossed the 

 equator in his annual visit to the southern hemisphere, that the arial 

 appears on the Red Sea plain, and his advent is duly reported by the 

 natives to the white men in Suakin. 



One afternoon, accordingly, I set out with " Spotty," an Arab hunter of 

 great repute, and, each mounted on a camel, with a minimum of food and 

 baggage and a maximum of water, we quickly cleared the out forts and set 

 our course for Tiroi. On the road Spotty halted to converse with a friend, 

 a Hadendowa or Fuzzey, and a real wild man of the mountains at that, and 

 after a few words, induced him to jump up behind him on his own camel, 

 and so we proceeded till the sun went down and the white walls of Suakin 

 disappeared behind us, and the stars in their courses twinkled across the 

 southern sky. 



Just as it grew quite dark we became aware of a large herd of arial, 

 thirteen or fourteen in very close proximity, not more than 100 yards oft", 

 but there was no light for shooting and we did not molest them. Shortly 



