The
Natives Cut Out The Tusks Of The Hippo, Which
Were Rather Good Ones, And Feasted Ravenously
On The Flesh, While I Turned My Attention With
Gratitude To The Hot Coffee And Cakes Which
Mabruki Had Meanwhile Prepared.
CHAPTER XIII
A DAY ON THE N'DUNGU ESCARPMENT
Immediately after breakfast camp was struck,
and accompanied by a few of the Wa Kamba, we
started off for the N'dungu Escarpment - a
frowning ridge which runs for a great distance parallel
to the Sabaki, some three or four miles from
its northern bank. We had not gone very far
before I caught sight of a fine waterbuck and
successfully bowled him over - a good omen for
the day, which put us all in excellent spirits.
Mabruki cut off several strips of the tough meat
and impaled them on a sharp stick to dry in the
sun as he went along. I warned him that he had
better be careful that a lion did not scent the
meat, as if it did it would be sure to follow up and
kill him. Of course I did not mean this seriously;
but Mabruki was a great glutton, and by no
means courageous, so I wanted to frighten him.
As we trudged along towards the hill, I heard a
peculiar noise behind a small rising on our right,
and on looking over the crest, I was delighted
to see two beautiful giraffe feeding peacefully a
little distance away and straining their long necks
to get at the tops of some mimosa-like trees, while
a young one was lying down in the grass quite
close to me. For some time I remained
concealed, watching the full-grown pair with great
interest: they had evidently just come up from
the river, and were slowly making their way back
to their home on the escarpment. They seemed
on the most affectionate terms, occasionally
entwining their great long necks and gently
biting each other on the shoulders. Much as I
should have liked to have added a giraffe to
my collection of trophies, I left them undisturbed,
as I think it a pity to shoot these rather rare and
very harmless creatures, unless one is required for
a special purpose.
We pushed on, accordingly, towards the
escarpment, for I was very impatient to get to the top
and explore a place where I felt convinced no
other white man had ever set foot. From the
river the ground rose gently upwards to the foot
of the ridge, and was covered more or less densely
with stunted trees and bushes, and of course
the inevitable "wait-a-bit" thorns. I was
fortunate enough, however, to find a rhino path
which afforded a fairly comfortable and open road,
on which we could walk upright the greater
part of the way. The climb up the escarpment
itself was a stiff one, and had to be negotiated
principally on all-fours, but on the way up I
discovered that there was an enormous cleft some
miles to the right which would probably have
afforded an easier ascent.
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