242 
ON SAFARI 
easy stalking country, as we were requiring meat for the 
camp. This was an ideal park-like country—a spacious 
vale whose gentle slopes, decorated with clumps of bush, 
forest-trees and open grass alternately, dipped away to 
a gorge far below—the whole being backed by loftier 
ranges beyond. While the “ boys ” cut up meat and I 
smoked in the shade (watching a pair of wood-hoopoes 
(. Irrisor ) and wondering at their climbing habit, which 
belied the name) my new Somali hunter, Yama, came up 
and said, “ I see rhino.” The beast was on the opposite 
hillside, two miles away, standing on a rocky slope where 
TWO WEAVER-FINCHES IN BLACK AND GOLD 
(Hyphantornis textor , Pyromelana taha). 
grew scattered thorns. On one of these trees he was 
breakfasting. Abandoning our two kongoni (except heads 
:and skins), we were soon ready ; but meantime “ Kifaru,” 
having finished his meal, slowly turned, and still more 
slowly strolled along the mountain-side. The thought 
occurred to me, watching, that perchance he had performed 
that selfsame walk on the morn of Waterloo. 
*** The descent into the intervening gorge and the 
passage thereof were of the roughest—broken rocks all 
intercepted with dongas and terrible brushwood ; and 
ere we emerged the rhino had disappeared. In vain we 
sought. To the right, in the direction he had gone, 
a great ravine rent the hill. This was choked with 
euphorbia, cactus and other humanly-impenetrable 
