Rhinoceros And Giraffes Were Very Numerous Throughout This
Country; But The Ground Was Most Unfavourable For Riding.
The
surface resembled a beautiful park, composed of a succession of
undulations, interspersed with thornless trees, and watered by
streamlets at intervals of five or eight miles, while the
magnificent Alps of Abyssinia bounded the view to the south; but
there was no enjoyment in this country on horseback.
The rainy
season converted this rich loam into a pudding, and the dry
season baked it into a pie-crust. The entire surface was loose,
flaky, and hollow; there was not a yard of ground that was not
split into deep crevices, that were regular pitfalls; and so
unsound was the general character of the country, that a horse
sank above his fetlocks at every footstep. I usually rode during
the day when exploring; but whenever I shot, it was necessary to
dismount, as it was impossible to follow an animal successfully
on horseback. I had on several occasions attempted to ride down
a giraffe, but upon such ground I had not the slightest chance;
thus the aggageers, who invariably hunt the giraffe by riding at
full speed until they can hamstring it with the sword, never
visit this country. This accounted for the presence of so large
a number of animals, as they were never disturbed by these
untiring hunters.
Our camp was pitched at the junction of a torrent, which, flowing
from the higher ground, joined the river Salaam in a succession
of waterfalls.
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