318 
AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 
that is wet. Klipspringers and baboons were in the sheer 
hills around; and among the rocks were hyraxes (looking 
like our Rocky Mountain conies or Little Chief hares), 
queer diurnal rats, and bright blue-green lizards with or¬ 
ange heads. Rhinos drank at this pool; we frequently saw 
them on our journey, but always managed to avoid wound¬ 
ing their susceptibilities, and so escaped an encounter. 
Each day we endeavored to camp a couple of hours before 
sundown so as to give the men plenty of chance to get fire¬ 
wood, pitch the tents, and put everything in order. Some¬ 
times we would make an early start; in which case we 
would breakfast in the open, while in the east the crescent 
of the dying moon hung over the glow that heralded the 
sunrise. 
As we reached the high, rolling downs the weather grew 
cooler, and many flowers appeared; those of the aloes were 
bright red, standing on high stalks above the clump of 
fleshy, spined leaves, which were handsomely mottled, like 
a snake’s back. As I rode at the head of the safari I usually, 
in the course of the day, shot a buck of some kind for the 
table. I had not time to stalk, but simply took the shots 
as they came, generally at long range. One day I shot 
an eland, an old blue bull. We needed the skin for the 
museum, and as there was water near by we camped where 
we were; I had already shot a waterbuck that morning, 
and this and the eland together gave the entire safari a feast 
of meat. 
On another occasion an eland herd afforded me fun, al¬ 
though no profit. I was mounted on Brownie, the zebra¬ 
shaped pony. Brownie would still occasionally run off 
when I dismounted to shoot (a habit that had cost me an 
