380 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CH. XVI 
from the vultures. This expedient for protecting game from 
birds I have not seen recommended. Others may have adopted 
it, though I have not come across any mention of it myself. I 
found out the dodge some twenty years ago, in South Africa, 
and have never known it fail if properly carried out, adapting 
it to the situation by such various devices for attaching the flag 
as circumstances may dictate. 
We were now close to the rugged black lava hills, already 
described as characterising the country at the southern end of 
the lake, where I knew game to be scarce ; and glad was I 
that the men had been having a good time with meat galore, 
so as to have strength in reserve for the hard work ahead. 
Our last comfortable camp was on the charming little stream 
which comes from Mount Kulale. How beautiful is running 
water in this arid land ; and how sweet it tastes after the nasty 
stuff of bitter old Bassu ! Thence it took us a week’s hard toil 
to get through the terrible country already described—country 
which a Zulu would say (and truly) had been “ badly hurt.” 
As before, terrific gales made things unpleasant for us, and the 
work harder : it being sometimes hardly possible to stand, and 
out of the question to attempt to pitch a tent or use a table, 
while nothing was safe without stones on it. But one may get, 
in a measure, hardened to almost anything ; and I came to 
take less notice of the discomforts the unceasing wind entailed 
than formerly. By steady plodding we got through all the 
difficulties without mishap. Of meat we got none ; I could 
not even get a chance at one of the Grant’s gazelle, a few of 
which are to be found even there. 
It is perplexing, at first sight, why these buck, which can 
hardly ever see a human being, should be much wilder than 
those in inhabited parts. Being unaccustomed to man certainly 
produces no shocking tameness here. The explanation seems 
to be, that where there are natives who are practically unable 
to harm them, they get used to seeing people about ; whereas 
these, having an in-bred fear of man, the inheritance of ages, 
