to build their combs and deposit their wax. It was a
great treat to get a little of this sweet nutriment, to
counteract the salts which prevail in all the spring
waters of the interior. When out shooting specimens,
I often saw the Somali chasing down the Salts antelopes
on foot.
I killed many of them myself right and left, when
running like hares, with common shot, much to the
astonishment of the Somali, for they are too small a
mark for their bow-and-arrow shooting. The little
creatures cannot stand travelling in the mid-day sun,
and usually lie about under favouring trees which line
the watercourses. Knowing, this weakness, the cunning
Somali hunter watches him down from feeding
to his favourite haunts, and, after the sun shines
strong enough, quietly disturbs him ; then, as he trots
away to search for another shady bush, they follow
gently after to prevent his resting. In the course of
an hour or so, the terrified animal, utterly exhausted,
rushes from bush to bush, throwing itself down under
each in succession, until at length it gets captured.
Somali, from their roving habits of life, are as keen
and cunning sportsmen as any in the world. They told
me of many dodges they adopted for killing elephants,
ostriches, and gazelles, which they do as follows i—If
an elephant is ever seen upon the plains, a large body
of men assemble on foot, armed with spears, bows,
and sharp double - edged knives, with one man
mounted on a white horse, to act as teaser. This man
commences by riding in front of the animal, to irritate
and absorb his entire attention by riding in repeated
circles just in front of him. When the huge beast
shows signs of distress by fruitlessly charging on his
nimble adversary, the footmen rush in upon him from
behind, and hamstring him with their knives, and
then with great facility soon despatch him with their
arrows and spears.
Ostriches, again, are killed in two ways ; the more
simple one is by finding out what places they usually
resort to in search of food, and then throwing down
some tempting herb of strong poisonous properties,
which they eagerly eat and die from. The other
method adopted in catching them is not so easy, but
is managed with great effect. The ostrich is, as is
generally known, a remarkably shy bird, and is so
blind at night it cannot feed. Again, the Somali
pony, though wonderfully hardy and enduring, is not
swift; therefore, to accommodate existing power to
knowledge of these various weaknesses, the Somali
provides himself with a pony, and provisions for two or
three days, and begins his hunt by showing himself at
such a considerable distance from the birds he has
formed his design upon, that they quietly stalk off,
and he, at the same rate, follows after, but never
draws near enough to scare them out of sight of him.
At night, the birds stop in consequence of the darkness,
but cannot feed. He, on the other hand, dismounts
to rest and feed with his pony, and resumes
the chase the following day. After the second or
third day, when he and the pony are as fresh as ever,