Here I Handed Him
Over To The Officer In Charge, Who, I Am Glad To
Say, Had Him Soundly Thrashed For His Brutality
And Theft.
After performing this little act of retributive
justice, I pushed on towards the Stony Athi.
On
the way - while still not far from the caravan
camp - I spied a Grant's gazelle in the distance,
and by the aid of my glasses discovered that it
was a fine-looking buck with a capital pair of
horns. A few Basoga from the caravan had
followed me, doubtless in the hope of obtaining
meat, of which they are inordinately fond; so,
handing them my pony, I wriggled from tuft to
tuft and crawled along in the folds of the ground
until eventually I got near enough for a safe
shot, which bowled the antelope over stone-dead.
Scarcely had he dropped when the Basoga
swooped down on him, ripped him open, and
devoured huge chunks of the raw and still
quivering flesh, lapping up the warm blood in the
palms of their hands. In return for the meat
which I gave them, two of them willingly agreed
to go on with me and carry the head and haunch
of the gazelle. When we had got very nearly
to the place where I intended to camp for the
night, a great wart-hog suddenly jumped up
almost at my horse's feet, and as he had very fine
and exceptionally long tusks, I dismounted at
once and bagged him too. The Basoga were
delighted at this, and promptly cut off the head;
but my own people, who arrived with my tent
just at this juncture, and who were all good
Mohammedans, were thoroughly disgusted at the
sight of this very hideous-looking pig.
I camped for the night on the banks of the
Stony Athi, close to where the railway was to
cross, and made my notes of what was necessary
for the temporary bridge. At the time the river
was absolutely dry, but I knew that it might at
any moment become a roaring torrent if rain
should set in; it would therefore be necessary
to span it with a forty-foot girder in order
to prevent constant "washouts" during the rainy
season. The next morning I started early on
my return to railhead. On my way I had to
pass the camp which the Basoga caravan had
just left, but the spectacle of about a dozen
newly-made graves which the hyenas had already
torn open caused me to put spurs to my horse
and to gallop as fast as possible through the
pestilential spot. When I had almost got back
to railhead I happened to notice a huge serpent
stretched out on the grass, warming himself, his
skin of old gold and bright green sparkling
brilliantly in the sunshine. He appeared to take
little notice of me as I cautiously approached,
and was probably drowsy and sated with a heavy
meal. I shot him through the head as he lay,
and the muscular contortions after death
throughout his long body gave me a very vivid idea
of the tremendous squeezing power possessed by
these reptiles.
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