CHAPTER IX.

Departure from Haikota. — Mahomet Salee. — Abundance of Game. — Halt at Toadelook. — Tetel. — Adventure with a Lion on the Prowl. — A Shooting Expedition.— Fifty-seven Sand-grouse netted.— Night-watches in Hopes of a Shot.

We left Haikota on Jan. 22, and very glad we were to make a fresh start. So far our journey, owing to unavoidable circumstances, had been a very slow one ; but delays are the inevitable adjuncts of African travel. We were getting very tired, too, of the crowds of natives that surrounded our tents more or less all day. We were fortunate, however, in not having any of our impedirncnta, that lay about the camp in all directions, stolen : in fact, during such expeditions to Africa we have always found the Arabs whom we encountered wonderfully honest folk, and scarcely lost anything through theft the whole time.

Among other visitors at Haikota, we were more than once favoured with a visit from an Abyssinian chief of the Walkait country, who was at Haikota ''on business" connected with Sheik Achmed, and was accompanied by his son, a most amusing boy, who played on a curious stringed instrument, and sang to us. He really had some slight idea of singing ; but his songs were very monotonous and dirge-like compositions, and were sung in his own language, which none of us understood, but we were told they were redolent of the praises of the " Inglees."

Before starting we presented Sheik Achmed with a very good tent we had bought in Cairo, with which he was much pleased. I greatly doubt if he would make much use of it, as 71