I made a cup of strong
coffee, ate a morsel of dhurra bread, and started along the high
ground parallel with the course of the Settite river up stream.
"After walking for upwards of four hours over ground covered with
tracks of giraffes, elephants, and antelopes about a fortnight
old, I saw four tetel (Antelopus Bubalis), but I was unfortunate
in my shot at a long range in high grass. We had been marching
south-east, and as I intended to return to camp, we now turned
sharp to the west. The country was beautiful, composed of
alternate glades, copses, and low mimosa forest. At length I
espied the towering head of a giraffe about half a mile distant;
he was in the mimosa forest, and was already speculating upon our
party, which he had quickly observed. Leaving my men in this spot
to fix his attention, I succeeded in making a good stalk to
within one hundred and twenty yards of him. He was exactly facing
me, and I waited for him to turn and expose the flank, but he
suddenly turned so quickly that I lost the opportunity, and he
received the bullet in his back as he started at full speed; for
the moment he reeled crippled among the mimosas, but, recovering,
he made off. I could not fire the left-hand barrel on account of
the numerous trees and bushes. I called my men, and followed for
a few hundred yards upon his track, but as this was directly in
an opposite direction to that of my camp I was forced to give up
the hunt.*
* We found the remains of the Giraffe a few days later.
"About an hour later I hit a tetel with both barrels of the
little Fletcher, at full gallop; but although we followed the
blood-track for sonme distance, we did not recover it. At this
season the grass is in most places from seven to ten feet high,
and being trodden by numerous old tracks of animals, it is
difficult to find a wounded beast without the assistance of a
dog. The luck was against me to-day; I could only shoot well
enough to hit everything, but to bag nothing, owing to a
sleepless night. I killed a guinea-fowl to secure dinner upon my
return, and we at length reached the welcome Atbara within two
miles of my head-quarters. My men made a rush to the river, and
threw themselves into the water, as all were more or less
exhausted by the intense heat of the long day's work after a
restless night. I took a good drink through my gazelle
shank-bone, which I wear suspended from my neck for that purpose,
and I went on alone, leaving my bathing party to refresh
themselves. I reached the tent a little after 4 P.M. after more
than ten hours' continual walking in the burning sun. I felt
almost red hot, but my bath and clean linen being ready, thanks
to the careful preparation of my wife, I was quickly refreshed,
and sat down with a lion's appetite to good curry and rice, and
a cup of black coffee.
"September 25.--Having nothing to eat, I took my fishing-rod and
strolled down to the river, and chose from my aquarium a fish of
about half a pound for a live bait; I dropped this in the river
about twenty yards beyond the mouth of the Till, and allowed it
to swim naturally down the stream so as to pass across the Till
junction, and descend the deep channel between the rocks. For
about ten minutes I had no run; I had twice tried the same water
without success, nothing would admire my charming bait; when,
just as it had reached the favourite turning-point at the
extremity of a rock, away dashed the line, with the tremendous
rush that follows the attack of a heavy fish. Trusting to the
soundness of my tackle, I struck hard and fixed my new
acquaintance thoroughly, but off he dashed down the stream for
about fifty yards at one rush, making for a narrow channel
between two rocks, through which the stream ran like a mill-race.
Should he pass this channel, I knew he would cut the line across
the rock; therefore, giving him the butt, I held him by main
force, and by the great swirl in the water I saw that I was
bringing him to the surface; but just as I expected to see him,
my float having already appeared, away he darted in another
direction, taking sixty or seventy yards of line without a check.
I at once observed that he must pass a shallow sandbank
favourable for landing a heavy fish; I therefore checked him as
he reached this spot, and I followed him down the bank, reeling
up line as I ran parallel with his course. Now came the tug of
war! I knew my hooks were good and the line sound, therefore I
was determined not to let him escape beyond the favourable
ground; and I put a strain upon him, that after much struggling
brought to the surface a great shovel-head, followed by a pair of
broad silvery sides, as I led him gradualhy into shallow water.
Bacheet now cleverly secured him by the gills, and dragged him in
triumph to the shore. This was a splendid bayard, at least forty
pounds' weight.
"I laid my prize upon some green reeds, and covered it carefully
with the same cool material. I then replaced my bait by a lively
fish, and once more tried the river. In a very short time I had
another run, and landed a small fish of about nine pounds of the
same species. Not wishing to catch fish of that size, I put on a
large bait, and threw it about forty yards into the river, well
up the stream, and allowed the float to sweep the water in a half
circle, thus taking the chance of different distances from the
shore.
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