. Scouting for Stanley in East Africa . f-barrenregion; for, like domestic cattle, these wild herds pre-fer short pasturage to long. Big herds of zebras galloped across the dry patchesof adobe, and showed their contempt for our longcrawling line of men, by kicking up their heels insportive mood and creating in their wake dense cloudsof dust. Brimful of their wild, free life, these beauti-ful striped chargers of the Kilimanjaro plains seemed tothink that in us and our insignificant show of speedthey had found something to make merry over. Whata picture they made, as the great herds thundered ac
. Scouting for Stanley in East Africa . f-barrenregion; for, like domestic cattle, these wild herds pre-fer short pasturage to long. Big herds of zebras galloped across the dry patchesof adobe, and showed their contempt for our longcrawling line of men, by kicking up their heels insportive mood and creating in their wake dense cloudsof dust. Brimful of their wild, free life, these beauti-ful striped chargers of the Kilimanjaro plains seemed tothink that in us and our insignificant show of speedthey had found something to make merry over. Whata picture they made, as the great herds thundered acrossour path a couple of hundred yards ahead, their glossyblack and white stripes glistening in the bright, hot sun-light of an African noon I The front squadrons wouldkick up such clouds of dust that the remainder of theherd would be half the time obscured; and we wouldbe treated to the weird spectacle of a host of stripedcreatures flitting at racing speed through tlic breaks inthe clouds of dust. And now a sight truly African, if 132. HUNTING ADVENTURES. 133 ever there was one, greets our vision. The zebras, find-ing that we are not to be fooled into a trial of speed,have halted, and now stand in long lines, symmetricalalmost as troops of cavalry, looking at us and greetingus with their peculiar barking neigh. The whole herdseems to be taunting us for a set of dotards and stick-in-the-muds ; and now and then a spirited stallion walkstoward us a few paces and in a few well-chosen barksberates us for our glaring want of speed, and demandsto know our business. But this is only part of the picture of wild Africapresented to our view. A dozen ostriches are seen offto the right, strutting leisurely about in search of choicemorsels of lava, bleached bones, and kindred delicaciesto which these birds in their native haunts are havent seen the circus over our way yet. Butsee !—one wary old cock, some distance in advance of hisfellows, now hears the excited barking of the
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