XVI 
BIG GAME AND BIG GAME HUNTING 
169 
being past-masters in the art of serving up a perfect 
curry, cooking a fowl, or roasting a joint of buck, 
civilization has few advantages to offer in the 
matter of food. On safari, and when tracking- 
elephants, as time does not permit of the cooking 
of a solid meal, I have to be contented with picnic 
fare, and I find that during a spell of strenuous 
work there is nothing so energizing as a mixture of 
cocoa and sugar taken at intervals. In the even¬ 
ing, when I have finished my days work and 
bathed, I always indulge in a stiff whisky and 
soda ; with dinner, I regularly consume half a 
bottle of port wine (it really is port wine), and ere 
retiring to bed another strong peg or two of whisky. 
For a few months’ hunting, it is quite immaterial 
what one eats or drinks, but I find that, to endure 
month in month out, year in year out, the arduous 
work and strain of elephant hunting in a hot and 
enervating climate, a considerable quantity of 
alcohol is absolutely essential to my physical well¬ 
being, and seems to help in the assimilation of my 
food and give me refreshing sleep at night. Of 
course, during actual work and in the heat of the 
day, alcohol is certainly prejudicial, and when in 
a temperate climate I feel little or no desire for 
stimulants in any shape or form. After years of 
this dietary and hard life, I feel in perfect physical 
condition, and a recent medical examination 
