TO THE UASIN GISHU 
359 
swamps, living among the reeds, were big handsome cuck¬ 
oos, which ate mice. Our first camp was by a stream 
bordered by trees like clove-trees; at evening multitudes 
of yellow-billed pigeons flew up its course. They were 
feeding on olives, and were good for the table; and so were 
the yellow-billed mallards, which were found in the occa¬ 
sional pools. Everything we shot at this time went into 
the pot—except a hyena. The stomachs of the reedbuck 
and oribi contained nothing but grass; but the stomachs 
of the duikers were filled with berries from a plant which 
looked like the deadly nightshade. On the burned ground? 
by the way, the oribi, which were very plentiful, behaved 
precisely like tommies, except that they did not go in as 
large troops; they made no effort to hide as they do in 
thick grass; and as duikers, steinbucks, and reedbucks 
always do. We saw, but could not get a shot at, one topi 
with a white or blazed face, like a South African blesbok. 
While beating one swamp a lion appeared for an instant 
at its edge, a hundred and fifty yards off. I got a snap shot, 
and ought to have hit him, but didn’t. We tried our best 
to get him out of the swamp, finally burning all of it that 
was not too wet; but we never saw him again. 
We recrossed the high hill country, through mists and 
driving rains, and were back at Londiani on the last day 
of November. Here, with genuine regret, we said good¬ 
bye to our safari; for we were about to leave East Africa, 
and could only take a few of our personal attendants with 
us into Uganda and the Nile Valley. I was really sorry to 
see the last of the big, strong, good-natured porters. They 
had been with us over seven months, and had always be¬ 
haved well—though this, of course, was mainly owing to 
