A Breath from the Veldt 223 



following the honey guides ; he had shot a pallah, but had taken only a little of 

 the meat, as he hoped to get on an old waggon spoor again. After sleeping up 

 in trees, where he was half frozen — to avoid the lions at night — and trudging 

 wearily about in the sweltering heat of the sun, burdened with unpleasant 

 thoughts, no wonder that even in this short period the young fellow, doubtless 

 a hardy enough specimen of his race, was completely broken-down and cowed, 

 as he looked to-day. 



After a week at the second camp on the Nuanetsi the old man, who had at 

 odd times been knocking up a tiny apology for a waggon, made of tree poles 

 and wheels taken from his own small buck-waggon, said he was now ready to 

 start into the " fly " and go and look for the white rhinoceros. The donkeys, 

 twelve in number, were all in excellent health, and I decided to take Prince and 

 Office with me. We accordingly devoted an afternoon to putting together such 

 stores as were necessary for a six weeks' cruise, and to patching up a rotten set 

 of old riem harness which had been kindly given to me by the storekeeper from 

 whom I had purchased the mokes. At this class of work both Teenie and the 

 old man were experts, and all was ready next morning for our new journey. 

 The evening before our departure I witnessed a very beautiful sight just as I 

 returned to camp from hunting, and was cooking my dinner. The whole of 

 the Jabiru storks in the place had mounted high in the air above the river, 

 and were soaring like eagles, drifting slowly down wind in three huge spirals, 

 each of which at the moment was composed of thirty or forty birds. As this is 

 a feature in aerial volitation that can be better grasped by means of a sketch, I have 

 done my best to give a correct representation of the scene. The effect of the sun 

 on the snowy backs and wings of the birds was very beautiful, whilst the con- 

 stantly-moving spirals, as each bird kept changing from one line to another, 

 were quite charming to look upon. The wings were never beaten, but every 

 bird in turn, with stationary pinions, commenced a spiral descent of each pillar 

 and then passed on to the next, returning to the summit of the first cone on 

 reaching the lowest position of the third one. 



On Tuesday morning, 25th June, the old man and myself. Prince and Office, 

 started again for the east, Tace, Piet, and Teenie coming with us as far as the 

 river, to help in getting the little waggon across the sandy bed and up the bank 

 on the other side, which was almost like the side of a house. They all said that 

 if the donkeys could pull their load up that steep they could go anywhere ; and, 

 with their help and ours, the donkeys did it ; but before many days were over 

 we found, to our sorrow, that donkeys with a waggon in the thick bush are the 



