160 VENISON FEAST. 



repair, devoted themselves to the much more 

 agreeable employment of skinning the antelope and 

 preparing it for the cooking-pot, but not without 

 indulging in some portion of the meat raw. Adam 

 Burrah, for his share, took the bones of the back, 

 and was now busy endeavouring to separate them 

 by bending the whole with both hands against the 

 upright sole of his foot, as, sitting upon the ground, 

 he almost laid himself upon his back, by the force 

 of his exertions, turning and twisting the many- 

 jointed bones about, in a peculiarly determined 

 manner, to have it broken into as many portions as 

 he could. Allee and Moosa divided the raw kid- 

 neys between them, which they eat up on the 

 spot, whilst Garahmee, in possession of a very great 

 delicacy, sucked the almost liquid marrow from the 

 shank bones ; for this purpose having smashed them, 

 one after the other, between two large stones. 



In a short time Zaido brought his large wooden 

 bowl, in which were heavy lumps of flesh, very hot, 

 and but half boiled. On his approach, all hands 

 forgot their employments to pounce upon the 

 cooked meat, and I saw that if I did not make a 

 push there was little chance of my getting any; 

 so forcing myself between the scrambling parties, 

 I seized hold of the first portion I could put my 

 hand on and bore away the greater part of the haunch, 

 and upon this, occasionally daubing my tongue 

 with a piece of dirty rough salt I always carried in 

 my ammunition-bag, I managed to make as hearty 



