NO GAME 
265 
of this commodity we managed to attract some would-be sellers, 
and then palmed off beads and a few handkerchiefs that had 
escaped Indala’s rapacity on them in return, after much expos¬ 
tulation on their part, as they all wished us to give them 
powder. But our coarse trading powder was nearly finished, 
and what little remained we intended to keep for greater 
emergencies, likely to occur on ahead. The absence of game 
probably had its explanation in the fact that the natives here 
were armed with guns, and have driven away what has not 
otherwise been shot to more distant pastures. To all our 
inquiries they said that the game was gone, and there was 
none within’ a day’s march of the river in the parts they knew. 
Occasionally a giraffe appeared, but generally made off* again, 
scared away, if not killed by them. Hippo there were plenty 
in the river, but these they would not venture near in their 
frail canoes, as the old bulls, fierce masters of the position, 
became infuriated when attacked, and could smash a canoe up 
into pieces with one bite of their enormous jaws. Things 
looked decidedly unpleasant for us. 
Passing through old cornfields alternating with swamp for 
six and a half miles in the early cool of next day 1 shot a 
steinbok, and, later, a seven and a half foot long crocodile. 
This latter beast was lying on short grass on the abrupt low 
bank of the stream where the water came with a deep sweep 
clear up to the river’s bank. His head was projecting over the 
surface in a motionless calm, an attitude common to this reptile 
when asleep. I crawled up to within thirty yards, and, marking 
the spot just above and behind the eye where the small brain¬ 
pan is situated, pulled. A small shower, as of a substance not 
unlike broken cauliflower, scattered over the water at the shot, 
but the crocodile never moved, and I was j ust thinking of firing 
again when its head dropped from the horizontal position it 
hitherto had maintained loosely into the water. We pulled the 
animal away by its tail, and found that the bullet had completely 
emptied out the brain-pan, membranes and all, which accounted 
for the white substance being scattered over the water. 
