152 
African Game Trails 
sunrise. On the hunt in question a patch of 
marsh was driven by a hundred natives, 
while the guns were strung along the likely 
passes which led to another patch of 
marsh. A fine situtunga buck came to 
Kermit’s post, and he killed it as it bolted 
away. It had stolen up so quietly through 
the iong marsh grass that he only saw it 
when it was directly on him. Its stomach 
contained not grass but the leaves and twig 
tips of a shrub which grows in and along¬ 
side of the marshes. 
The day after this hunt our safari started 
on its march north-westward to Lake Al¬ 
bert Nyanza. We had taken with us from 
East Africa our gun-bearers, tent boys, and 
the men whom the naturalists had trained 
as skinners. The porters were men of 
Uganda; the askaris were from the con¬ 
stabulary, and widely different races were 
represented among them, but all had been 
drilled into soldierly uniformity. The por¬ 
ters were well-clad, well-behaved, fine- 
looking men, and did their work better than 
the “shenzis,” the wild Meru or Kikiu 
tribesmen, whom we had occasionally em¬ 
ployed in East Africa; but they were not 
the equals of the regular East African por¬ 
ters. I think this was largely because of 
their inferior food, for they ate chiefly 
yams and plantains; in other words in¬ 
ferior sweet potatoes, and bananas. They 
were quite as fond of singing as the East 
African porters, and in addition were 
cheered on the march by drum and fife; 
several men had fifes, and one carried noth¬ 
ing but one of the big Uganda drums, 
which he usually bore at the head of the 
safari, marching in company with the flag- 
bearer. Every hour or two the men would 
halt, often beside one of the queer little 
wicker-work booths in which native huck¬ 
sters disposed of their wares by the road¬ 
side. 
Along the road we often met wayfarers; 
once or twice bullock carts; more often 
men carrying rolls of hides or long bales 
of cotton on their heads; or a set of 
Bahima herdsmen, with clear-cut feat¬ 
ures, guarding their herds of huge-horned 
Angola cattle. 
All greeted us most courteously, fre¬ 
quently crouching or kneeling, as is their 
custom when they salute a superior; and 
we were scrupulous to acknowledge their 
salutes, and to return their greetings in the 
native fashion, with words of courtesy and 
long-drawn e-h-h-s and a-a-h-s. Along 
the line of march the chiefs 
had made preparations to 
receive us. Each afternoon, 
as we came to the spot where 
we were to camp for the 
night, we found a cleared 
space strewed with straw 
and surrounded by a plaited 
reed fence. Within this 
space cane houses, with 
thatched roofs of coarse 
grass, had been erected, some 
for our stores, one for a kitch¬ 
en, one, which was always 
decked with flowers, as a rest 
house for ourselves; the latter 
with open sides, the roof up¬ 
held by cane pillars, so that 
it was cool and comfortable, 
and afforded a welcome shel¬ 
ls. ter, either from the burning 
sun if the weather was clear, 
or from the pelting, driving 
tropical storms if there was rain. The 
moon was almost full when we left Kam- 
palla, and night after night it lent a half 
unearthly beauty to the tropical landscape. 
Sometimes in the evenings the mosqui¬ 
toes bothered us; more often they did not; 
but in any event we slept well under our 
nettings. Usually at each camp we found 
