228 THROUGH MAS AIL AND TO THE BORDERS OF KIKUYU 



a group of men, and had finally run off in the direction of the 

 departing caravan. 



The Count had brought down a lot of game here, so I 

 thought I would see what I could do, as the more we husbanded 

 our food the better. I also wanted to examine the neighbour- 

 hood carefully, especially a beautiful part Count Teleki had 

 pointed out to me. This was a district where the base of 

 Kilimanjaro melts into the plain, which is richly provided 

 with springs forming narrow streaks of water along the 

 mountain foot, and probably connected with Lake Nyiri, that 

 sheet of water being fed by springs only, not by tributary 

 streams. The fresh green of the turf and the thick foliage of 

 the acacias near the springs were in marked contrast to the 

 barren wilderness around them, but, strange to say, this charm- 

 ing spot was quite deserted by wild animals, the grass not being 

 trodden down at all. 



I was fairly successful with my hunting, and though much 

 of the game escaped me, I brought down two eland antelopes, 

 two zebras, and one gazelle Thomsoni. I shot the zebras near 

 the camp, on my way back. A herd of some two hundred 

 zebras had dashed in mad flight from behind a hill right across 

 our path without noticing us ; but we had heard the stamping 

 of their hoofs and were prepared for them. The sudden shot 

 close to them made them all wild with terror. The foremost of 

 them backed upon the rest, throwing them into the greatest 

 confusion ; for a moment they formed one palpitating, quivering 

 mass, then they veered to the right and fled, leaving one of 

 their number dead, a second writhing in agony upon the 

 ground, whilst a third limped into the bush with a broken 

 'hind leg. I had to fire again at the wounded animal on the 

 ground, as it bit and tore too fiercelv for me to be able to 

 finish it with the knife. For this second shot I used the gun 

 of one of my men, first making sure that it was fully loaded. It 



