VARIOUS GAME 
358 
CH. XIl] 
to come across a lioness and her cubs, an old lion with 
several lionesses and their young (for they are often 
polygamous), a single lion or lioness, or a couple of 
lions or lionesses, or a small troup, either all lions or all 
lionesses, or of mixed sexes. These facts are not com¬ 
patible with the romantic theory in question. 
We tried to get the Nandi to stay with us for a few 
days and beat for lions, but this they refused to do, 
unless they were also to kill them; and I did not care 
to assist as a mere spectator at any more lion hunts, no 
matter how exciting—though to do so once was well 
worth while. So we moved on by ourselves, camping 
in likely places. In the swamps, living among the 
reeds, were big handsome cuckoos, 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, stein- 
bucks, 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 
S3 
