Page:Hunting and trapping stories; a book for boys (IA huntingtrappings00pric).pdf/255

 that more than one or two sokos are killed in this way, for they are wonderfully agile and swift of foot, and vanish in no time.

A hunter who was traveling near the Victoria Nyanza came upon a colony of sokos. He watched them for some hours. At first he was puzzled to know what they were, for they looked at that distance like gigantic baboons. The sokos were making a curious drumming noise, and at certain intervals they would howl in chorus. After a while they discovered that they were being watched, and it seemed at first as if they would run off. They roared and barked in chorus, waving their arms as if ordering the hunter away. Seeing that no harm was intended, they came closer, their curiosity getting the better of their caution. The bright buttons on his clothes seemed to cause them great delight. Suddenly he found that one soko had crept up behind him and was fingering his gun-case and chattering loudly. All the other sokos set up loud cries, and the man, believing he was about to be attacked, fired at the largest soko. The poor beast fell dead while the others scampered off, leaving the hunter alone.