About midday
We never shot another like it , so I do not know if it was a `` sport '' or a distinct species . In the latter case this incident may interest naturalists . Job named it the Unicorn Goose . About midday the sun grew intensely hot , and the stench drawn up by it from the marshes which the river drains was something too awful , and caused us instantly to swallow precautionary doses of quinine . Shortly afterwards the breeze died away altogether , and as rowing our heavy boat against stream in the heat was out of the question , we were thankful enough to get under the shade of a group of trees -- a species of willow -- that grew by the edge of the river , and lie there and gasp till at length the approach of sunset put a period to our miseries . Seeing what appeared to be an open space of water straight ahead of us , we determined to row there before settling what to do for the night . Just as we were about to loosen the boat , however , a beautiful waterbuck , with great horns curving forward , and a white stripe across the rump , came down to the river to drink , without perceiving us hidden away within fifty yards under the willows .