IX 
EXCURSIONS FROM EL BOGOI 
201 
too long a march with heavy loads—I wished to do only 
about half the distance ; and so, about mid-day, I began to 
look out for a suitable spot to camp. The river here ran 
through a wide strip of forest, and could not be seen from 
outside ; so, halting my little caravan, I entered the bush to 
see how far away the water would be if we stopped where we 
were. The river proved to be farther away than I thought, 
but I soon found something that interested me much more, 
namely, quite fresh elephant dung. The bush, too, was ex¬ 
tensive and most likely looking, so I was filled with hope for 
another successful hunt. I went back at once, trekked some 
way farther, and then, finding a suitable spot on a little rise 
in the open, with a tree or two for shade and the river close 
by, camped. It was by this time fully one o’clock, and as I 
had to see things put straight, etc., and believed that, with due 
caution, there would be no fear of disturbing the elephants 
where we were, I decided to leave them till the next morning, 
so as to have the whole day before me for the hunt. 
The Ndorobo party had luckily camped farther back, at 
a rock pool away from the river. In the afternoon I went 
out into the open country towards the hills, and shot a Grant’s 
gazelle for meat. As I have said, outside the forest, dense 
jungle, and rank swamp growth, which, in varying proportions, 
clothed the flat alluvial floor of the valley immediately border¬ 
ing the river, the country was perfectly open, and the tran¬ 
sition from the one to the other was quite sudden. At this 
part there were stony slopes and comparatively level ridges 
between the flats and the steep hills enclosing the valley. 
The ground being so open, and covered only with short dry 
grass, it was not easy to get within shot of game ; so that it 
was only by making a careful stalk after a long circuit—not 
forgetting, of course, the direction of the wind—and creeping 
down a narrow gully that I was able to bag my buck. But 
that is just what gives interest to such shooting. Having 
reached a point opposite where I had noticed the little herd 
