CHAPTER XV.
ANTELOPES ON THE SETTITE.
Our course lay as usual along the banks of the
river, which we several times forded to avoid the
bends. Great numbers of antelopes were upon the
river’s bed, having descended to drink; by making
a circuit, I cut off one party upon their retreat,
and made' two good shots with the Fletcher No. 24,
bagging two tetel [Antelope Bubalis) at considerable
ranges. I also shot an ariel (G. Dama), and, upon
arriving at a deep pool in the river, I shot a bull
hippopotamus, as a present for Taher Sheriff and his
brothers. We decided upon encamping at a spot
known to the Arabs as Delladilla; this was the
forest upon the margin of the river where I had
first shot the bull elephant, when the aggageers-
fought with him upon foot. The trees were larger
in this locality than elsewhere, as a great portion
of the country was flooded by the river during
the rainy season, and much rich soil had been deposited
; this, with excessive moisture, had produced
a forest of fine timber, with an undergrowth of
thick nabbuk. We fixed upon a charming spot for
a camp, beneath a large tree that bore a peculiar
fruit, suspended from the branches by a strong
but single fibre, like a cord; each fruit was about
eighteen inches in length, by six in diameter; it
was perfectly worthless, but extremely ornamental
We had arrived beneath this tree, and were still
on horseback; my wife had just suggested that it
would be unpleasant should one of the large fruit
fall upon our heads if we camped under the branches,
when suddenly a lioness glided by us, within three
yards of the horses, and almost immediately disappeared
in the thick thorns; unfortunately, I had
the moment before given my rifle to a servant, prior
to dismounting. I searched the bushes in every
direction, but to no purpose.
This spot was so favourably situated that I determined
to remain for some time, as I could explore
the" country on horseback to a great distance upon
all sides. We immediately set to work to construct
our new camp, and by the evening our people had
cleared a circle of fifty yards diameter; this was
swept perfectly clean, and the ground being hard,
though free from stones, the surface was as even
as a paved floor. The entire circle was well protected
with a strong fence of thorn bushes, for
which the kittar is admirably adapted; the head
being mushroom-shaped, the entire tree is cut down,
and the stem being drawn towards the inside of
the camp, the thick and wide-spreading thorny crest