190 AMONGST THE EESHIAT AND TO LAKE STEFANIE 



resembled that of wild asses. Witli the greatest caution I 

 stalked them, and managed to get as near as some 250 paces. 

 Even when looked at through a glass they were so deceptively 

 like donkeys that I at first thought they might be our own grey 

 fellows. But the latter were peacefully grazing by the lake, 

 and with fresh conviction that I was at last to get a shot at 

 the shyest of all game, I drew trigger and fired. Down went 

 one of the animals, and in the greatest delight and excitement 

 I hurried to it, only to find to my intense mortification that it 

 was, after all, merely a zebra Grevyi. My sharp-sighted com- 

 panions had also taken the animals for asses. 



We added considerably to our collection of insects here. 

 There were thousands of three kinds of the big, gleaming, 

 metallic-green Buprestis beetle, and a pretty black and pink 

 variety of the Cryptopentamera group, familiarly known as 

 wood-beetles. 



A little before sunset on the second day, our envoys 

 returned, having searched for natives first for some distance 

 along the lake, and then at the base of the mountains. They 

 had only found one cattle kraal, which had evidently been 

 deserted for at least three years. They had, however, seen 

 plenty of game, including numerous elephants, one a giant with 

 tusks longer than any we had yet seen, compared to which, 

 according to Qualla, all our other elephants had been mere 

 children's toys. We still hoped that Baringo might be more 

 successful, and therefore waited here another day, but he did 

 not come, and we thought it very likely he had found natives 

 and remained with them, although from his having borrowed 

 a second spear from Lembasso, so as, to quote his own words, 

 to have two in case of need, we gathered that he did not expect 

 to be kindly received. 



On the morning of April 26 we left the lake and pushed on 

 along a path running parallel with it in a westerly direction, 



