A FIVE DAYS’ BAG 
167 
CH. VIl] 
bronze figures into lurid relief against the darkness, the 
likeness was striking, not to the West Coast negroes, 
but to the engravings on the tombs, temples, and 
palaces of ancient Egypt ; they might have been 
soldiers in the armies of Thothmes or Rameses. They 
stood resting on their long staffs, and looked at me as 
I leaned on my rifle ; and they laughed and jested with 
their women, who felt the lion’s teeth and claws and 
laughed back at the men. Our gun-bearers worked at 
the skinning, and answered the jests of their warlike 
friends with the freedom of men who themselves followed 
a dangerous trade. The two horses stood quiet just 
outside the circle ; and over all the firelight played and 
leaped. 
It was after ten when we reached camp, and I enjoyed 
a hot bath and a shave before sitting down to a supper 
of eland venison and broiled spurfowl; and surely no 
supper ever tasted more delicious. 
Next day we broke camp. My bag for the five days 
illustrates ordinary African shooting in this part of the 
continent. Of course, I could have killed many other 
things; but I shot nothing that was not absolutely 
needed, either for scientific purposes or for food. The 
skin of every animal I shot was preserved for the 
National Museum. The bag included fourteen animals, 
of ten different species: one lioness, one hyena, one 
wart-hog boar, two zebra, two eland, one wildebeest, 
two topi, two impalla, one Roberts’ gazelle, one 
Thomson’s gazelle. Except the lioness and one impalla 
(both of which I shot running), all were shot at rather 
long ranges ; seven were shot standing, two walking, 
five running. The average distance at which they were 
shot was a little over two hundred and twenty yards. 
I used sixty-five cartridges—an amount which will seem 
