‘A JOURNEY IN THE EAST, 249 
giving the beast a finishing shot as soon as I got a good 
chance. 
A single wolf was the total result of this hunt, which might 
easily have been a brilliant success, as at least four separate 
wolves were shot at. We could not, however, continue it, 
for one by one the dogs came out at the edge of the field dead 
beat, the plucky animals having worked bravely in the 
scorching heat. We therefore returned to our horses, more or 
less satisfied, and expressing our surprise at the number of. wild 
animals inhabiting this district, and the comical way of hunting 
them in well-cultivated fields, as we do partridges at home. 
The caravan was soon in motion again, and wound through 
the luxuriantly green fields by a bad and often marshy road. 
The sun poured its burning rays upon us in a true African 
fashion, the warmth of the atmosphere being shown by a 
beautiful mirage. Even a Berber who was walking beside 
my horse swore at the heat and perspired profusely. He 
was a singular-looking fellow, for his black scarred face and 
pointed curly beard showed that negro blood ran in his veins, 
while his fine features indicated that he partly came of an 
Arab stock. I had given him my gun to carry, and he 
grinned with delight and showed his white teeth, while he 
examined the European weapon with the air of a connoisseur. 
- From our path we had a lovely view of the smiling fields, 
the grey-green bushes by the water, and beyond them 
of the broad surface of the lake itself’, backed by the orange 
lines of the Saharan desert. 
A Long-legged Buzzard, one of the characteristic birds 
of this country, was sitting on a hillock near our line of 
march. I jumped off my horse and crept up to it, but failed 
to kill it, as my shot was too small, whereupon the confiding 
bird came nearer. Again I fired without success, and so it 
went on until, in spite of the light shot, my fourth attempt 
brought it to the ground. 
