12 
SAVAGE SUDAN 
as species and individuals) select the spring- for that 
purpose; but a considerable proportion certainly nest in 
autumn, while others—possibly individually—are quite 
irregular, disregard seasons altogether, and nest when¬ 
ever instinct so impels. It was the moulting-condition 
of many birds shot in mid-winter (along with the case 
of the geese just mentioned) that first gave a clue to 
this amazing confusion of seasons. At that period 
(December and January) birds should normally be in 
their most perfect plumage: in Europe they all are; yet 
in Sudan many were heavily in moult, some disreputably 
ragged—pointing to such birds having bred in autumn. 
I find in my note-book this query:—Do African birds, 
like African savages, never possess a decent dress? or 
do they compromise with their torrid clime by wearing 
but half the usual allowance of feathers? 
The Savages of Sudan. —The human race having 
ever interested the author rather less than those of lower 
order, I refrained in previous w'orks from touching upon 
the subject. To describe peoples whose language the 
critic hardly knows—or knows not at all—seemed an 
impertinence. So stark and savage, however, are the 
aboriginal tribes of Sudan, so little elevated above the 
“lower orders” aforesaid, that mere language matters 
little. The main traits and character of these wild 
children of Nature are at least as transparent as those 
of beast and bird with which this book is chiefly 
concerned. My own contact with the pure-bred savage 
of the Sudan (and equally of Equatoria) leaves nothing 
but pleasant memories and a confidence in their ultimate 
development under British guidance and dominion; also, 
I may add, in their intrinsic value to us. Personally, 
I liked these savages all; because, though savage to the 
core, they are true to Nature’s type; idle if you like, 
but friendly, simple, and unsophisticated-—though that 
last epithet excludes neither cunning nor deceit. Im¬ 
mensely tall and muscular—typical athletes, trained to 
