186 
THROUGH SOMA LILA AH ANT AT YSSINLA chap. 
the trees a quarter of a mile away, having evidently winded us. 
We ran at an angle to cut him off, but he changed his pace to a 
heavy gallop, crashing through the thick parts of the jungle as 
if they had been clumps of grass. We followed in his wake, 
but failed to get within shot, for a rhinoceros should not be 
fired at from a greater distance than about eighty yards ; and 
so we settled steadily down to his tracks, hoping to catch him 
up before nightfall. He retreated into thick bush, and as he 
was going with the wind he twice winded us, and made off 
when we were close up, but the jungle being thick we could 
not see him. At last, night coming on, we left him and re- 
turned to camp after dark, tired and disappointed. 
Next day, the 2nd April, we marched again. As we advanced 
down the Jerer Valley by rapid stages we passed suddenly from 
country dried up by continued drought into a world of green 
grass and jungle, with an overcast sky, the effect of the south- 
west monsoon over the lower Jerer Valley some ten days before. 
Nothing can be more pleasant in Somaliland than this sudden 
change : the camels march better owing to fresh fodder ; the 
air is rendered cool, allowing one to travel during any hour of 
the day ; and the thorn-trees give out a strong perfume. 
At 5.30 p.m. on 3rd April we camped in the bush, without 
water, at Manjo-adeyu. Before camping I fired at a buck 
Waller’s gazelle, wounding it badly, but it did not drop at 
once, and we had to follow it up. I was rather fagged, hav- 
ing done a long march on foot owing to my camel being lame ; 
and sending on ahead my Midgdn hunter, Hassan, I followed the 
tracks with Geli at a leisurely pace. We at last came to the 
buck, lying dead, and Hassan standing over it. He reported 
that he had just seen the buck pulled down before his eyes 
by a panther, which had caught sight of him after springing, 
and cantered away through the forest. 
Sending the three camels and mule out of sight into some 
thick bush to the south, and ordering a camelman to overtake 
the caravan and have the camp pitched, I sat with Geli and 
Hassan by the stem of a tree on a bare patch of ground some 
fifteen yards from the body of the buck, the sun shining hori- 
zontally from behind our backs. 
We waited for half an hour, then Geli pointed to the north- 
east, and the panther came gliding silently through the under- 
brush, straight for the body of the buck. While he was yet 
one hundred, and fifty yards off I saw his beautifully spotted 
