in size and shape like a canary, but of a deep
bluish black, with an ivory white bill and yellow
lips. The beasts of prey are hungry, as the game
has become scarce r-—there is no safety for tame
animals, and our goats will not feed, as they are
constantly on the look-out for danger, starting at
the least sound in the bushes,' and running to the
tents for security; thus their supply of milk is much
reduced.
“ The Sheik of Soil, Hassan bel Kader, swam
across the river with a present of fowls; these he
had tied upon his head to prevent them from
drowning. This man is a celebrated hippopotamus
hunter, and I look forward to accompanying him
upon a harpooning expedition, when the river is
lower. His father was killed by a bull hippo that '
he had harpooned; the infuriated animal caught
the unfortunate hunter in his jaws, and with one
nip disembowelled him before his son’s eyes. Accidents
are constantly occurring in this dangerous
sport, as the hunters are so continually in the water
that they are exposed, like baits, to the attacks of
crocodiles. During the last season one of the sheik’s
party was killed; several men were swimming the
river supported by inflated skins, when one was
suddenly seized by a crocodile. Retaining his hold
upon the support, his comrades had time to clutch
him by the hair, and beneath the arms, thus the
crocodile could not drag the buoyant skins beneath
the surface. Once he was dragged from their, grasp,
but holding to his inflated skin, he regained the
surface, and was again supported by his friends,
who clung to him, while he implored them to hold
him tight, as the crocodile still held him by the
leg. In this way the hunters assisted him, at the
same time they struck downwards with their spears
at the determined brute, until they at last drove
it from its hold. Upon gaining the shore, they
found that the flesh of the leg from the knee downwards
had been stripped from the bone, and the
poor fellow shortly died.
“ October 11.—The Arabs have murdered one of
the Egyptian soldiers, about five miles from Sofi. All
my people are more or less ill, but we, thank Heaven,
are in excellent health; in fact I have never been
better than in this country, although I am constantly
in hard exercise in the burning sun.
“ October 15.—A fine breeze, therefore I set fire
to the grass in all directions, which spread into a
blaze over many miles of country. The fire immediately
attracts great numbers of fly-catchers and
buzzards; these hover in the smoke to catch the
locusts and other insects that escape from the heat.
Buzzards are so exceedingly bold, that it is one
person’s special duty to protect the strips of flesh
when an animal is being cut up, at which time
many scores collect, and swoop down upon their
prey, clutching a piece of meat with their claws, if
left unguarded for a moment. Upon one occasion,
the cook' had just cleaned a fish of about a pound