SHOOTING A BUFFALO. 523 



It is said to do this only before heavy falls of rain. It 

 may be a cuckoo, for it is said to throw out the eggs of 

 the white-backed Senegal crow, and lay its own instead. 

 This, combined with the cry for rain, causes the bird to 

 be regarded with favour. The crow, on the other hand, 

 has a bad repute, and when rain is withheld, its nest is 

 sought for and destroyed, in order to dissolve the charm 

 by which it is supposed to seal up the windows of heaven. 

 All the other birds now join in full chorus in the mornings ; 

 and two of them, at least, have fine loud notes. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



13th. — ThF country is becoming very beautiful, and 

 furrowed by deep valleys ; the underlying rocks, being 

 igneous, have yielded fertile soil. There is great abund- 

 ance of large game. The buffaloes select open spots, 

 and often eminences, as standing-places through the day. 

 We crossed the Mbai, and found in its bed, rocks of pink 

 marble. Some little hills near it are capped by marble 

 of beautiful whiteness, the underlying rock being igneous. 

 Violent showers occur frequently on the hills, and cause 

 such sudden sweeping floods in these rivulets, that five 

 of our men, who had gone to the other side for firewood, 

 were obliged to swim back. The temperature of the air 

 is lowered considerably by the daily rains. Several times 

 the thermometer at sunrise has been as low as 68°, and 

 74 at sunset. Generally, however, it stood at from 

 72 to 74 at sunrise, 90 to 96 at midday, and 8o° to 84 

 at sunset. The sensation, however, as before remarked, 

 was not disagreeable. 



14th. — We entered a most beautiful valley, abounding 

 in large game. Finding a buffalo lying down, I went to 

 secure him for our food. Three balls did not kill him, 

 and, as he turned round as if for a charge, we ran for the 

 shelter of some rocks. Before we gained them, we found 

 that three elephants, probably attracted by the strange 

 noise, had cut off our retreat on that side : they, however, 

 turned short off, and allowed us to gain the rocks. We 

 then saw that the buffalo was moving off quite briskly, 

 and in order not to be entirely balked, I tried a long shot 



