These excellent men had an
extraordinary affection for each other, and they were well known as
inseparables - the one was rarely seen without the other.
Descending the rocky terrace from the station at Fatiko, we were at once
in the lovely, park-like glades, diversified by bold granite rocks,
among which were scattered the graceful drooping acacias in clumps of
dense foliage.
Crossing the clear, rippling stream, we clambered up the steep bank on
the opposite side, and, after a ride of about a mile and a half, we
gained the water-shed, and commenced a gradual descent towards the west.
We were now joined by numerous people, both men, women and children, all
of whom were bent upon the hunt.
The men carried their nets and spears; the boys were also armed with
lighter weapons, and the very little fellows carried tiny lances, all of
which had been carefully sharpened for the expected game.
The women were in great numbers, and upon that day the villages were
quite deserted. Babies accompanied their mothers, strapped upon their
backs with leathern bands, and protected from the weather by the usual
tortoise-like coverings of gourd-shells. Thus it may be imagined that
the Shooli tribe were born hunters, as they had accompanied the public
hunts from their earliest infancy.
