The goose I shot was a bird weighing about ten pounds, the wings and back were copper-coloured, the breast and under surface greyish white, while the legs were yellow and the beak red. The Bambaras called it “bio-lou.” This goose was very common north of Mopti; it is frequently seen feeding in the fields during the daytime. I cannot recommend it as a dish. The flesh is extremely tough. Even when well stewed it was almost too hard to be eatable; finally, I used to use it only for making soup. The largest game bird I saw on the Niger was a duck which must weigh at least fifteen pounds. It has a black beak, with a very distinctive red knob on its nose, just like a Barbary duck. The body and breast are black and white, while the wings are black, with a dark greenish tinge. This bird is also spur-winged. It was so large that I used to have a joint off it, treating a leg as one would a leg of mutton.
After leaving Mopti we encountered the Niger River winds. These winds blow almost permanently from the north-east, that is to say the general direction is up-stream. The result is that progress up-stream is frequently more rapid than when one travels with the current, for in the latter case the wind on this section is adverse. The wind accounted also for the waves on Lake Dhebo, making the motion so unpleasant that I could easily believe the skipper when he said people were often sea-sick here. One or two barges we passed under sail were spanking along at a great pace up-stream.
The day before our departure from Mopti a French gentleman had arrived from Djenné in a lighter. Owing to the strong head winds he could not make any progress in his craft, so arranged to be towed by us. He was a newspaper reporter, who had come out from Europe to study and write a report on certain native tribes of the Western Soudan. M. Malbranque had made some interesting investigations at Djenné, and was now en route to Timbuctu for a similar purpose. His barge was lashed alongside us, so that one could easily step from one boat to the other. The roof of his lighter made a pleasant spot upon which to rest and watch the passing scenery. We used to sit together and have many interesting discussions about travel. He was a man with a wide experience of French colonies, who had been in most parts of the world in connection with his literary labours. His river barge had done a long journey already. He had started from Koulikoro, some three weeks before me, but passing to Djenné from the town of Diafarabe, and then following the Bani River to Mopti.
The Issa-Ber is here nearly half a mile wide, and with such a fine depth of water that we steamed along merrily, having no longer any fear of sticking on a shoal. After leaving Lake Dhebo the aspect of the banks changed considerably. The vast pasturages of “borgou” on the banks gradually disappeared, giving way to a sandier soil, well wooded near the water’s edge. As we approached Niafounké the western shore grew more sandy, while the trees and scrub became more scattered. Our first view of the station was a glimpse of three rectangular mud-built houses, standing on rising ground not far from the river bank, with the Tricolour waving proudly in front of the centre one. The native town was tucked away in a dip of the ground behind the Residency, so was not visible from the river.
As we came alongside the little jetty two or three French officials advanced to meet us. I was introduced to the Commissioner, his assistant, and the doctor, and invited up to the Residency, where I was to put up. I had arranged with the skipper of the “Réné Caillé” to take my surplus baggage on to Timbuctu, as I intended to travel light, only taking a month’s supplies on my hunting expedition into the “Bend” of the Niger. I had spent a pleasant ten days on the little launch, and now said good-bye, for she was to start off that evening and would travel day and night till she reached Kabara. The river being now so much wider and deeper, navigation by night was easy. So the “Réné Caillé” steamed off, and we went up the hill to the station. My host gave me a most palatial room in his house, in which I felt lost after living in half a tiny cabin on the launch for the past few days.
That evening we were a pleasant party of seven. Besides the officials, two men from a sheep farm had come to dine, and I had to promise to pay their farm a visit before leaving the neighbourhood. The doctor and I made great friends. We had much in common, as he was almost as keen on sport as myself. He had a good deal of leisure time at Niafounké and had spent a considerable portion of it in shooting. We arranged for an expedition the following morning, as I had decided to pass two days here, giving me time to settle my best plan of campaign for the future.
The next day we were out before daylight, equipped only with light rifles, as we did not expect to see anything bigger than haartebeest, while we would probably only see gazelle.
We were evidently on the edge of the Sahara, for the soil was very sandy and vegetation of the stunted, desert variety. The trees were mostly mimosas, and as the sun rose the delicate fragrance of their golden blossoms was wafted towards us on the morning air. That morning we did not see much big game, in fact it was not till we were on the way home that we saw a small herd of red-fronted gazelle. We each had a rather long shot, and each of us missed. Small game, however, was abundant. Amongst the mimosa scrub we frequently saw hares darting about, while sand-grouse were very numerous. The latter were strangely difficult to see, as they crouched close to the ground, their speckled yellow colour harmonizing exactly with the sand in which they lay. They would sometimes get up almost at one’s feet, unperceived, until one heard their peculiar cry and the whir of their wings as they swiftly darted away.
Here I saw the doctor successfully practise the trick of approaching a greater bustard by stalking it in an ever-narrowing circle. The plan is an extremely simple and apparently effective one. The stalker, perceiving the bird at a distance of about 200 yards, proceeds to walk round it slowly in a circle of this radius. After completing a circle he gradually decreases the diameter, moving slowly the whole time, until he is within about fifty yards. At this point he cautiously goes into position with his rifle and has a shot. The bird does not seem to notice the gradual diminution of distance, and in this way seems to be fairly easy to approach. It is certain that to attempt to get within shot in open country is difficult in any other way.
On the homeward road we passed a small stream where guinea-fowl and bushfowl were plentiful; indeed, it seemed strange that in this narrow fringe of country almost bordering on the desert, there should be such a quantity of small game. We came across several thorn zaribas, used as sheep-pens by the natives in order to protect their animals from the lions which prowl around this region. The doctor informed me that no lions had been seen for some months past near Niafounké. However, these animals travel great distances in a short time and they might turn up again unexpectedly at any minute, so the native is wise to take precautions.