423 
ch. xiv] CAMP ON THE NILE 
used to describe anything male, from a lion or an 
elephant to a bustard or a crocodile ; “ cow ” being his 
expression for the female of these and all other creatures. 
As Gouvimali came running up to shake hands, his face 
wreathed in smiles, he exclaimed 44 G-o-o-d-e morning ” 
—a phrase which he had picked up under the impression 
that it was a species of congratulation. 
As always when I have killed buffalo, I was struck 
by the massive bulk of the great bull as he lay in death, 
and by the evident and tremendous muscular power of 
his big-boned frame. He looked what he was, a for¬ 
midable beast. Thirty porters had to be sent out to 
bring to camp the head, hide, and meat. We found, 
by the way, that his meat made excellent soup, his 
kidneys a good stew, while his tongue was delicious. 
Next morning Kermit and I with the bulk of the 
safari walked back to our main camp, on the Nile, 
leaving Cuninghame and Heller where they were for a 
day, to take care of the buffalo skin. Each of us struck 
off across the country by himself, with his gun-bearers. 
After walking five or six miles I saw a big rhino three- 
quarters of a mile off. At this point the country was 
flat, the acacias very thinly scattered, and the grass 
completely burnt off, the green young blades sprouting ; 
and there was no difficulty in making out, at the 
distance we did, the vast grey bulk of the rhino as it 
stood inertly under a tree. Drawing nearer, we saw 
that it had a good horn, although not as good as 
Kermit’s best; and, approaching quietly to within 
forty yards, I shot the beast. 
At the main camp we found that Mearns had made 
a fine collection of birds in our absence; while Loring 
had taken a variety of excellent photos, of marabou, 
vultures, and kites feeding, and, above all, of a monitor 
