THE UNSEEN WORLD 
261 
There are, however, members of this “ unseen 
world ” of which once or twice in a lifetime one may 
catch a fugitive glimpse. Thus, as above recorded 
(p. 210), we twice saw and once actually captured a 
porcupine. Now this animal must be extremely abundant 
in Africa; yet so rarely is he seen that, on my mention¬ 
ing the fact just stated to Mr. F. J. Jackson at Nairobi, 
he told me that never once in his lifelong experience of 
East Africa and its big game had he so much as seen 
a single porcupine alive ! 
AARD-VAARK—SKETCHED IN BERGEN MUSEUM. 
Once when “ partridge ’’-shooting over dogs in the 
South, my two pointers had “set” dead at something 
w 7 hich their attitude of quivering excitement—suggesting 
some slight “ funk ”—clearly showed was not the harm¬ 
less francolin of our search. Out bounced a huge 
brindled civet, looking quite double its natural size 
owing to the prominent erectile crest which stuck 
straight up along the whole length of the beast, from 
nape of neck to tip of tail. Instantly the hunting 
instinct in both dogs—steady enough on game— 
reasserted itself. In short, they broke-in, thus spoil¬ 
ing my shot; and after infinite digging, shifting tons 
of earth from the hole wherein the civet had sought 
refuge—it made no attempt to “ tree ”—we were 
