I Had Four Hundred Weight, And Prodigious
Quantities Of Powder And Caps:
Thus I could at all times kill sufficient
game for ourselves and people.
There were a series of small marshy pools
scattered over the country near the stream that ran through the valley;
these were the resort of numerous ducks, which afforded excellent sport.
The town of Tarrangolle is situated at the foot of the mountain, about a
mile from the stream, which is about eighty yards wide, but shallow. In
the dry weather, water is obtained by wells dug in the sandy bed, but
during the rains it is a simple torrent not exceeding three feet in
depth. The bed being sandy, the numerous banks, left dry by the
fluctuations of the stream, are most inviting spots for ducks; and it
was only necessary to wait under a tree, on the river's bank, to obtain
thirty or forty shots in one morning as the ducks flew down the course
of the stream. I found two varieties: the small brown duck with a grey
head; and a magnificent variety, as large as the Muscovy, having a
copper-and-blue coloured tinselled back and wings, with a white but
speckled head and neck. This duck had a curious peculiarity in a fleshy
protuberance on the beak about as large as a half-crown. This stands
erect, like a cock's comb. Both this, and the smaller variety, were
delicious eating. There were two varieties of geese - the only two that
I have ever seen on the White Nile - the common Egyptian grey goose, and
a large black and white bird with a crimson head and neck, and a red and
yellow horny protuberance on the top of the head.
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