After A Little
While I Fancied I Saw A Hippo Among Some Tall
Rushes Growing On The Bank, And Quickly Signed
To Mahina And Moota To Stay Perfectly Still.
I
then made a careful stalk, only to discover, after
all my trouble, that my eyes had deceived me
and made me imagine a black bank and a few
rushes to be a living animal.
We now left the
bed of the ravine, and advanced along the top.
This turned out to be a good move, for soon
we heard the galloping of a herd of some
animal or other across our front. I rushed round
a corner in the path a few yards ahead, and
crouching under the bushes saw a line of startled
zebras flying past. This was the first time I
had seen these beautifully marked animals in
their wild state, so I selected the largest and
fired, and as I was quite close to them he dropped
in his tracks stone-dead. When I stood over the
handsome creature I was positively sorry for
having killed him. Not so Moota, however, who
rushed up in ecstasy, and before I could stop
him had cut his throat. This was done, as he
remarked, "to make the meat lawful," for Moota
was a devout follower of the Prophet, and no
true Mohammedan will eat the flesh of any
animal unless the throat has been cut at the
proper place and the blood allowed to flow.
This custom has often caused me great annoyance,
for Mohammedan followers rush in so quickly
when an animal is shot and cut the head off so
short that it is afterwards quite useless as a
trophy.
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