But
He Was Too Quick For Me, And Made Off Before
I Could Get A Shot; I Had Not Approached
Noiselessly Enough, And A Leopard Is Too Wary A
Beast To Be Caught Napping.
Unfortunately I had
no more time at my disposal in which to explor
these hills, as I was anxious to resume work
at Tsavo as soon as possible; so after breakfast
we packed up the zebra skin and began to retrace
our steps through the jungle.
It was an intensely
hot day, and we were all very glad when at
length we reached the home camp.
Most of my little trips of this sort, however,
were made in a northerly direction, towards the
ever-interesting Athi or Sabaki rivers. After a
long and tiring walk through the jungle what a
pleasure it was to lie up in the friendly shelter
of the rushes which line the banks, and watch
the animals come down to drink, all unconscious
of my presence. I took several photographs of
scenes of this kind, but unfortunately many of
the negatives were spoiled. Often, too, on a
brilliant moonlight night have I sat on a rock
out in the middle of the stream, near a favourite
drinking place, waiting for a shot at whatever
fortune might send my way. How exasperating
it was, when the wind changed at the critical
moment, and gave me away to the rhino or other
animal I had sat there for hours patiently awaiting!
Occasionally I would get heartily tired of my
weary vigil and would wade ashore through
the warm water, to make my bed in the
soft sand regardless of the snap, snap of the crocodiles
which could plainly be heard from the deeper pools
up and down the river. At the time, being new
to the country, I did not realise the risks I ran; but
later on - after my poor Wa Kamba follower had
been seized and dragged under, as I have already
described - I learned to be much more cautious.
The shortest way of reaching the Athi river
from Tsavo was to strike through the jungle in
a north-westerly direction, and here there was
luckily a particularly well-defined rhino path
which I always made use of. I discovered it
quite by accident on one occasion when I had
asked some guests, who were staying with me
at Tsavo, to spend a night on the banks of the
river. As we were making our way slowly and
painfully through the dense jungle, I came across
this well-trodden path, which appeared to lead
in the direction in which I wished to go, and as
I felt convinced that at any rate it would bring
us to the river somewhere, I followed it with
confidence. Our progress was now easy, and
the track led through fairly open glades where
traces of bush-buck and water-buck were numerous;
indeed once or twice we caught glimpses of these
animals as they bounded away to the shelter of
the thicket, warned by the sound of our approach.
In the end, as I anticipated, the old rhino path
proved a true guide, for it struck the Athi at an
ideal spot for a camping ground, where some lofty
trees close to the bank of the river gave a most
grateful and refreshing shade.
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