48 BEASTS AND MEN 
region may be described as one of the classical countries for 
capturing animals. 
For many years this animal paradise was closed, and the 
angel with the flaming sword who guarded the gate was Ab- 
dullahi Kalifat el Mahdi, the false follower of a false prophet. 
None of the animals inhabiting the country could be brought to 
Europe ; and for this reason, that to meet with the Mahdi meant 
both for Europeans and for Egyptians almost certain death, 
or at the very least long captivity. Nevertheless it would be 
a mistake to suppose that these regions are inhabited by a 
fanatical, bloodthirsty population; for the savage barbarity 
which prevailed was entirely confined to the rulers. Although 
the country is so rich in game, the inhabitants are for the 
most part not hunters; much more often they are either resi- 
dent peasants, eking out their livelihood by the additional pur- 
suit of some trade in the country villages near by; or else 
nomads, leading their herds from pasture to pasture and carry- 
ing their tents and household goods upon the backs of their 
camels. 
In spite of their peaceable disposition, such of the Nubians 
who do adopt the pursuit make bold huntsmen. For people 
born in a land so richly stocked with game, hunting is the 
most natural of callings. On the banks of the rivers, inthe ~ ~ ~ 
almost impenetrable forests, and on the plains, which in the 
rainy season are covered by grass ten to fifteen feet high, 
the elephant wanders in herds of from fifty to a hundred 
head, the black double-horned rhinoceros feeds in pairs, and 
gentle giraffes, wild Kaffir-buffaloes, and fleet antelopes are 
to be found in hundreds. And the great carnivores follow 
in their tracks. The native hunter knows the favourite 
resorts of his quarry, and follows their trail with those remark- 
able powers of tracking which characterise savages. He 
pits his cunning against the timidity of the animals. Entire 
families and villages devote themselves to the dangerous but © 
attractive occupation of hunting, and in this way regular 
hunting castes have been built up. 
