WALLERS GAZELLE SHOT 
253 
the matter, and he answered with the greatest scorn, 
‘ These bleck peoples no good,’ as if he himself was as white 
as a blooming sepulchre ! 
Next day the heat, as usual, was very great. We 
passed two caravans of gum-pickers. One said there was 
plenty of water at Edegan ; the other said there was none. 
They both lied. 
Next morning I seemed to have slept but half an hour, 
when I was awakened by the camels roaring as they were 
loaded up. It must have been 2 o’clock when we started. 
I fell asleep in the saddle, and got so cold that I was obliged 
to dismount and walk. On and on we marched in the 
moonlight through open grassy country thinly covered with 
trees. On dawn appearing I shot a Waller’s gazelle, the 
first I had seen for months. When struck by the bullet 
he jumped a great height into the air, and then fell dead. 
Soon after we passed dozens of villages, and hundreds of 
sheep, goats, camels, and people. I shot a silver-backed 
jackal a great distance ofi* me, and camped at 9 a.m. 
I had my breakfast in an ideal lion’s lair — a bower of 
grass some 7 feet high ! A man brought me in a present 
of two sheep, and shortly after five more were forthcoming. 
It would have taken a month to have procured so many in 
the Haweea and Marehan countries. The natives reported 
very little water at Edegan, half a day’s march off. It 
was being closely guarded, they said. The men complained 
of being very hungry, but I could not allow them to cook 
sheep now, as our water-supply was all but exhausted. In 
spite of its being cooler, I felt very unwell all day. The 
caravan moved on in front of me at 2 p.m., whilst I fol- 
lowed slowly on the pony. 
As we reached some villages, a francolin ran into a bush 
round which a crowd of men and women were sitting. 
Now was a chance of showing off before all these people. 
It was an anxious moment as I approached that bush. Up 
and away flew the bird at a tremendous pace. I fired, and 
he came down plump, and never moved another feather. 
