EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XIV 
176 
but fierce kitten in his charo^e. This unehecked seratch- 
ing seemed to distress him very little. 
We were bound to shoot a number of animals in 
order to supply our camp with meat. Porters when on 
safari are supplied with flour made from mealies, and 
they expect meat. When an opportunity offers these 
men will eat a very large quantity of flesh, and if the 
porters be kept well supplied with meat they are 
contented, happy, and not so likely to desert the 
camp. 
Certain precautions are necessary in regard to the 
religious prejudices of the Mahomedans. The Somali 
gunbearers carry a large sheath knife in their belts 
for skinning animals when shot. When an antelope, 
zebra, or buffalo is shot and it is safe to approach, the 
Somali runs up with the object of cutting the animal’s 
throat liefore it dies : in such circumstances the 
Mahomedans will eat the flesh. Should the animal 
cease to breathe before the throat is cut by a Mahom- 
edan, none will eat the flesh, but he will hay and 
disembowel the animal for such of the natives who, 
not being followers of Mahomet, may choose to 
use it. 
The high grass which abounds in the Rift Valley is 
the favourite haunt of the rhinoceros. This mammal, 
like the elephant, is a huge, ungainly representative of 
a giant fauna which was formerly common on the earth. 
So numerous are the rhinoceroses in some parts of 
East Africa that they are a nuisance to caravans. 
Gregory, when making a journey near Baringo, had to 
pass through scrub and thorny thickets. His porters 
were charged several times in one day by these 
colossal animals. He writes : — They lay asleep, 
until awakened by the noise we made, and then, 
frightened and muddled, they charged wildly in all 
directions through the scrub. These things happened 
in 1893. 
Harvesting-Ants .—During our journey from Njaro 
