ground howling with fear, and then--with heads
well down and arms well spread out--they fled wildly in all directions;
nor did the stampede cease until I shut off steam and stopped the
whistle. Then, their curiosity gradually overpowering them, very
cautiously they began to return, approaching the locomotive stealthily
as though it were some living monster of the jungle. Eventually, two of
their chiefs summoned up courage enough to climb on to the engine, and
afterwards thoroughly enjoyed a short run which I had to make down the
line in order to bring up some construction material.

Just after this caravan had moved on we were subjected to some
torrential rain-storms, which transformed the whole plain into a
quaking bog and stopped all railway work for the time being. Indeed,
the effect of a heavy downpour of rain in this sun-baked district is
extraordinary. The ground, which is of a black sub-soil, becomes a mass
of thick mud in no time, and on attempting to do any walking one slides
and slips about in the slush in a most uncomfortable manner.
Innocent-looking dongas, where half an hour previously not one drop of
water was to be seen, become roaring torrents from bank to bank in an
incredibly short time; while for many hours or even a few days the
rivers become absolutely impassable in this land of no bridges. On this
account it is the custom of the wise traveller in these parts always to
cross a river before camping, for otherwise a flood may come down and
detain him and his caravan on the wrong side of the stream for perhaps
a week. Of course when the rain ceases, the floods as quickly subside,
the rivers and dongas dry up, and the country once more resumes its
normal sun-cracked appearance.

On leaving my tent one morning when work was at a standstill owing to
the rain, I noticed a great herd of zebra about a couple of miles away
on the north side of the railway. Now, it had long been my ambition to
capture one of these animals alive; so I said to myself, "Here is my
chance!" The men could do nothing owing to the rain, and the ground was
very boggy, so I thought that if we could surround the herd judiciously
and chase the zebra up and down from point to point through the heavy
ground, some of them would soon get exhausted and we should then be
able to catch them. I selected for the hunt a dozen fleet-footed
Indians who were employed on the earth works, and who at once entered
with great zest into the spirit of the