ON SAFARI
ON SAFARI
BIG-GAME HUNTING IN
BRITISH EAST AFRICA
WITH STUDIES IN BIRD-LIFE
BY
ABEL CHAPMAN
AUTHOR OF
BIRD-LIFE OF THE BORDERS ON MOORLAND AND SEA ' (TWO EDITIONS)
' WILD NORWAY ' AND ' WILD SPAIN '
WITH 170 ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE AUTHOR AND E. CALDWELL
SKETCH-MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
LONDON
EDWARD ARNOLD
1908
[All Righis Reserved}
PREFACE
SHOULD the title of this work convey no significance,
the fact would show that there yet remains " Something
new from Africa." That Arabic term "Safari" has no
precise equivalent in our British tongue, yet is in daily
use throughout British territories six times larger than
the home islands. Hence I venture to introduce it to
our common language. Its interpretation will presently
become clear to those who read this book.
British East Africa forms no inconsiderable asset of
the Empire. It has involved the investment of several
millions of our national funds, and it possesses a future
that should be described as potential rather than assured
none the worse for that. At the moment, this Colony
of yesterday consists chiefly of virgin hunting-grounds,
as yet largely unknown and unexplored save by a handful
of pioneers and big-game hunters.
Any sound and carefully-prepared work whatever
its point of view that brings this new outlet more
clearly under the public eye, is therefore doing a service.
Compare these respective British areas
SQUARE MILES. WHITE POPULATION.
Canada . . 3,750,000 . 6,500,000
Australia .
British South Africa
British East Africa
British Islands .
3,290,000 . 4,120,000
1,239,000 . 1,130,000
750,000 . 3,000
121,000 . 44,000,000
The present work treats exclusively of the Faunal
aspects of British Equatoria, and especially of its Big
Game. Suffice it as evidencing the wealth of the
Colony in the latter respect, to say that the author and
his brother in two expeditions obtained specimens of
thirty-four different species or, including South Africa,
vi PREFACE
a total of upwards of fifty distinct varieties of big game
in three trips. This compares with fourteen species, the
net result of many years' strenuous hunting in Europe.
And, quite recently, three Spanish friends have returned
from British East Africa with a total of thirty-five
species secured in a single season.
The antelope-tribe alone counts upwards of forty
members from elands of 2000 Ibs. to dikdiks of under
ten ; then there are the beasts of prey, the three
great pachyderms, giraffes and zebras, buffaloes, and a
mixed multitude besides. Beyond all stand out on the
hunter's horizon the elephant and the lion. These
two constitute his supreme triumph, being not only the
most difficult to encounter, but the most dangerous to
attack.
Then these equatorial forests shelter two great wild
animals, to the full as interesting as the much-discussed
okapi, yet practically unknown, to wit : that splendid
bovine antelope the Bongo, a bull of which has never
yet fallen by white hunter's hand ; and the Giant
Forest-hog (Hylochcerus), a first example of which has,
I hear, been obtained while these sheets are in Press.
The author's companion throughout nearly the whole
of his East- African wanderings was his brother, Walter
Ingram Chapman, with whom he had previously com-
pleted many hunting-trips, chiefly in Northern Europe,
Newfoundland, etc.
The illustrations are drawn almost exclusively from
rough sketches made by the author in Africa some on
the actual scene, others in camp immediately thereafter
while impression remained vivid on the mental retina.
To ensure a higher level of artistic excellence in re-
production, the aid was invoked of Mr. E. Caldwell,
himself fresh from a year spent among African game.
His skilled and patient collaboration, extending over
several months, has evolved this series of drawings, that
faithfully depict in life many of the most magnificent
wild beasts that to-day remain existent. That none
more true have ever before appeared on paper is the
PREFACE vii
author's honest conviction, and that opinion he has
backed by illustrating this work on a scale which, he is
told, is not warranted in books of this description.
A number of the author's own sketches have also
been inserted especially of birds. These are naturally
rougher, being merely amateur work.
In attempting a rude sketch of the bird-life of this
little-known Ethiopian region, the author may perhaps
have been too bold. The splendid assistance rendered
him, both in Africa and at home, by friends who
represent the first authority on the subject, to wit, Mr.
F. J. Jackson, C.B., Lieut. -Governor of British East
Africa, and Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, has encouraged
this inclusion of his rough ornithological notes. They
are, at least, the first that have hitherto been attempted
in a popular sense. As such, they may prove useful to
travellers, sportsmen and colonists as well as to the
lay bird-loving public to all of whom the purely
scientific works on this subject (though they represent
altogether admirable labour and research) are utterly
incomprehensible.
In conclusion : British East Africa affords to-day
probably the most glorious hunting-field extant,
certainly the most accessible, and this book may
suggest to some an expedition thereto. They will not
be disappointed. No very special personal qualifications
are required. Neither the author nor his brother were
skilled in African hunting, and the former, it may per-
tinently be added, had already long passed the half-
century before first setting foot in Equatoria. Naturally
an insight into the rudiments of hunting-craft, together
with reasonable rifie-practice (since ranges in Africa
average double those customary elsewhere), are among
the essentials.
ABEL CHAPMAN.
Houxty, Wark,
XortltH inberlaiid.
AUGUST 1908.
CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
I. AFRICA SOUTH AND EAST : INTRODUCTORY . . 1
II. THE EQUATORIAL TRENCH (l) HUNTING IN THE RIFT
VALLEY (EBURU TO THE ENDERIT RIVER) . . 9
III. THE EQUATORIAL TRENCH (ll) ON THE ENDERIT RIVER
AND LAKE NAKURU . . . . .18
IV. A LION-DRIVE ON LAKE NAKURU . . .40
V. A TWELFTH ON THE EQUATOR NAKURU TO BARINGO . 48
VI. AFTER ELEPHANT AT BARINGO . . . .62
VII. BEYOND BARINGO (l) AFTER ORYX AND ELAND . 73
VIII. (ll) TWO RHINOS . . .91
IX. (ill) ORYX, ELAND, IMPALA, JACK-
SON's HARTEBEEST, DIKDIK, ETC. . . .97
X. ON SAFARI A SKETCH OF CAMP-LIFE IX BRITISH EAST
AFRICA . . . . . .110
XI. ELMENTEITA (l) IN SEPTEMBER . . .121
XII. (ll) IN FEBRUARY . . .133
XIII. ELEPHANTS . . . . . .151
XIV. HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI (l) CHANCE OR SKILL? . 165
XV. ,. (ll) WATERBUCK, WILD-DOGS,
WART-HOG AND RHINOS (RETURN TO NAKURU) . 175
XVI. THE MAU FOREST AFTER BUFFALO AT KISHOBO . 186
XVII. THE ATHI PLAINS (l) FLYING VISIT IN SEPTEMBER 1904 201
XVIII. A MONTH ON THE ATHI RIVER (ll) IN JANUARY AND
FEBRUARY 1906 208
CONTENTS
PAGE
XIX. OX THE STONY ATHI (JANUARY FEBRUARY 1906) . 2l'-J
\\. HUXTIXG OX THE SIMBA RIVER . . . 237
XXI. THE UNSEEN WORLD . . 258
XXII. BIO GAME AND ITS BIRD-PROTECTORS . . 266
XXIII. FASCICULA (l) RETROSPECTIVE . . .277
(ll) DANGER .... 278
(ill) SNAKES .... 280
(IV) THE SAFARI .... 283
XXIV. STRAY NOTES ON EAST-AFRICAN GAME . . . 287
XXV. PROTECTION OF BIG GAME (fcPECIALLY IN RELATION TO
BRITISH EAST AFRICA) .... 295
APPENDIX ROUGH VELD-NOTES ON BIRD-LIFE IN BRITISH EAST
AFRICA ....... 303
INDEX . 337
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
OVERLOOKED . . . (Photogravure) Frontispiece
SING-SING WATERBUCK BULL . ... 8
GREY PHANTOMS OF THE ROCKS (CHANLER's REEDBUCKs) . 11
SUNBIRDS . . . . . . .12
MASAI WARRIORS .... To face p. 12
SKETCH-MAP OF COUNTRY FROM EBURU TO NAKURU . .14
SPOTTED HYENA . . . . . .15
HEAD OF HELMETED GUINEA-FOWL . . . .16
CROWNED HORNBILL (Lophoceros melanoleucits) . . .17
DRONGO . . . . . . .18
ASSEMBLING OF THE CAUNIVORA . . To face p. 20-
"GAZING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION" (WATERBUCK) . . 22
WOUNDED WATERBUCK . . . . . .23
NOONTIDE ON ENDERIT RIVER LAKE NAKURU AND CRATER OF
MENINGAI IN BACKGROUND . . To face p. 24
GRANT'S GAZELLES . . . . . .25
"WHILE i HELD AN EMPTY GUN" (LEOPARD) . . .27
MASAI CATTLE-BELL PICKED UP ON ENDERIT . . .28
WART-HOG . . . . . . .30
GREY LOURY . . . . . . .31
1MPALA . . . . . . . .32
HUNTING-KNIFE SHEATHED IN SKIN FROM AN IMPALA's PASTERN 35
HEADS OF NEUMANN'S HARTEBEEST . . . .36
GOLIATH HERON . . . . . .37
AFRICAN JABIRU, OR SADDLE-BILL . . . .39
FIRST GLIMPSE OF A LION . . . . .41
LIONESSES RIGHT AND LEFT . . . . .45
SAVAGES DANCING AROUND DEAD LIONESSES . . .46
DEAD LIONESS . . . . . . .47
xi
xii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PACE
KING WHYDAH-FINCHES .
JACKSON'S HARTEBEEST, BULL .
OSTRICHES
HEAD OF EAST-AFRICAN REEDBUCK . 55
SOCIAL WEAVER-FIXCH . 58
COUCAL, OR BUSH-CUCKOO 59
AARD-VAARK
XAMAQUA DOVE (CEna capensis)
BARBET.
A MOUSE-GREY COLY (Colius) AT NJEMPS . . 65
WEAVER-FIXCH ES* XESTS ... .67
NEARLY CAUGHT .... To face p. 68
SKETCH-MAP OF BARIXGO . . . . .75
LAKE BARIXGO FROM NORTH-EAST . . TofdCep. 76
KORI BUSTARD . . . . . . .77
GIANT FOREST-HOG (Hylochcerus meinertzhageni) . . 80
GIRAFFE BULL AT BARINGO ....
" BEYOXD THE LOW ALOES " (ORYX) . . . .83
HORNS OF GAZELLES . . . . . .87
IMPALA .......
ORYX . . . . . . - .89
GAZELLES . . . . . . .90
TURK ANA ..... To face p. 92
KERIO RIVER RUNNING TOWARDS LAKE RUDOLPH To./OCe p. 92
A TROOP OF ORYX, MIGRATING BARINGO, AUGUST 31, 1904
To face p. 98
DIAGRAM SHOWING CONFIGURATION OF THE BARINGO PLAINS . 100
SOURCES OF THE SUGOTA RIVER . . To face p. 100-
SUK WARRIORS IN THE FORT AT BARINGO . To face p. 102
IN THE SUK COUNTRY .... Tofacep. 102
ELANDS. ..... Tofacep. 104
EAST- AFRICAN BUSH-PIGS . . . . .106
JACKSON'S HARTEBEESTS ON THE MOLO RIVER . Tofacep. 108
PURPLE-CROWNED coucAL (Centropus monachus) . .109
A SAFARI ON THE MARCH . . . To face p. 110
WHITE-BROWED COUCAL, OR BUSH-CUCKOO (Centropus super-
ciliosus) . . . . . . .112
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii
PAGE
AARD-WOLF . . . . . . .113
SAVAGES LOOTING "HIGH" RHINO . . . .116
SOMALI HUNTERS IN MIDDAY UNDRESS . . Tofacep. 118
SAFARI AWAITING THE ORDER TO START NAIROBI To face p. 118
HEAD OF WHITE-BEARDED GNU . . . . .120
BEYOND BARINGO TURKANA CAMELS GRAZING UNTENDED
Tofacep. 120
NEUMANN'S HARTEBEESTS . . . . .123
STRIPED HYENA . . . . . .125
TAWNY EAGLE . . . . . . .130
A CORNER OF THE CROWD MASSED GAME NEAR ELMENTEITA
(SEPT. 1904) .... Tofacep. 130'
SING-SING WATERBUCK . . . . . .132
LAKE ELMENTEITA FROM THE NORTH-EAST LOOKING DOWN
KARRIENDOOS VALLEY TOWARDS EBURU . To face p. 134
CHANLER'S REEDBUCK (FEMALE) . . . .136
HIPPOS IN LAKE ELMENTEITA . . . . .138
"FACED ROUND IN THE MOONLIGHT" (RHINO) . . . 140
RHINO BULL AS HE FELL . . . To face p. 140
THE THREE-HORNED RHINO'S HEAD . . To face p. 140
SACRED IBIS . . . . . . .142
AN AFRICAN LARK, OR " LONG-CLAW " (MoCTOnyX CTOCeUS) . 145
DAY-DAWN ON LAKE ELMENTEITA . . . .147
FLAMINGOES FLIGHTING. . . . . .148
EXECUTORS . . . (Photogravure) Tofacep. 149
STERNUM OF OSTRICH . . . . . 150
PUFF-ADDER . . . . . . .153
SKETCH-MAP OF SOLAI, ILLUSTRATING OPERATION WITH ELEPHANTS 156
ENVELOPED ..... To face p. 158
"TURNED ON us WITH COCKED EARS AND UPRAISED TRUNK" . 159
"COLLAPSED STERN-FIRST" ..... 160
FURTHER ADVANCE DANGEROUS PRIZE ABANDONED TO ENEMY
To face p. 160 ;
DEAD ELEPHANT BULL . . . . . .161
BULL ELEPHANT EIGHT YARDS LONG . . To face p. 1&2
WALTER'S BIG BULL .... Tofacep. 162
ADIEU!. 164
XIV
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
\v-
AND BEAD ELEPHANT
ELEPHANT 8 EAR ....
WATERBUCK BULL
ELAND BULL
A CHARGE OF THE HEAVIES
" SPOILING FOR A FIGHT " (RHINO)
BUSH-SHRIKE (Dryoscopus nandensis) .
A PACK OF WILD-DOGS ....
WILD-DOG WITH TWO SPOTTED HYENAS .
RHINO FROM LIFE ....
SLEEPING BEAUTIES ....
" THOROUGHLY NASTY " .
BRINGING HOME THE IVORY
WHYDAH-FINCHES (Penthetria ardens) .
HEAD OF BUFFALO ....
A HORNBILL OF THE MAU FOREST
TRUMPETER HORNBILL ....
A HORNBILL OF SOTIK .
A TOURACO OF SOTIK (Gallirex chlorochlamys] .
A TINY WOODPECKER ....
GREAT GROUND-HORNBILLS, ALARMED BY A PASSING EAGLE
ANOTHER HORNBILL (Lophoceros)
HORNBILLS ON WING ....
THE SENTRY WHITE-BEARDED GNUS
{i CLEARED OUT " DO.
PENNANT-WINGED NIGHTJAR
LOST BY A LENGTH HAWK-EAGLE AND GUINEA-FOWL
VIS-A-VIS .....
SCOPS CAPENSIS ....
BOLTING LIONS .....
THE AUTHOR ON "GOLDFINCH"
DAYBREAK ON THE ATHI RIVER GAME COMING DOWN TO
DRINK .....
A TROPICAL POOL ON ATHI RIVER
HAMMER-HEAD (Scopus umbretta)
THE DACE (LeudsCUS) OF ATHI
GIRAFFES
To face p.
To face p.
166
166
167
.
168
To face p.
170
171
.
174
. .
176
To face p.
To face p.
178
178
179
.
180
182
.
185
187
.
190
.
192
193
194
196
AGLE
197
199
200
.
203
205
211
212
.
213
213
To face p.
214
To face p.
214
DOWN TO
To face p.
216
218
220
222
223
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv
PAGE
EAGLES STOOPING ...... 224
HARTEBEEST PILOTING BRINDLED GNUS TO WATER TofdCe p. 228 '
HOODED COBRA (Ndja hdje) . 229
SPOTTED HYENA .... To face p. 232
BRINDLED GNU, BULL STONY ATHI . . To/OCep. 232
SECRETARY (Secretdrius serpentarius) .... 234
HOODED COBRA ..... To face p. 236
ZEBRA ON STONY ATHI .... TofdCep. 236
TWO WEAVER-FINCHES IN BLACK AND GOLD (Hyphantomis textor,
Pyromelana taha) ..... 242
WOOD-HOOPOE (Irrisor erythrorhynchus) . . . 243
PORTERS BRINGING IN RHINO HEAD ... . . 245
SILHOUETTED AGAINST THE LOW-RISING SUN (LION) . . 247
LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER (Corddds cduddtus) . . . 248
A PAIR OF BISHOP-BIRDS (Pyromelana sundevalli) . . 249
NESTS OF WEAVER-FINCHES ON THE SIMBA RIVER . .250
A HORNBILL ON SIMBA RIVER (PROBABLY LophocerOS fdScidtus) 251
GIRAFFES ON ATHI RIVER . . . To/deep. 252
HEADS OF COKE'S HARTEBEEST (MALES) . . . 254
AARD-VAARK SKETCHED IN BERGEN MUSEUM . . . 261
CIVET . . . . . . . .262
RATEL . . . . . . . .263
WHITE-BEARDED GNU ...... 265
HONEY-GUIDE ....... 267
HEAD OF NESTLING Indicator variegatus (SCALY-THROATED
HONEY-GUIDE) SHOWING THE " FORCEPS " ON MANDIBLES . 270
"GO-'WAY BIRDS" (Turacus corythaix) . . . 271
TURACUS CONCOLOR ...... 272
SOCIABLE SHRIKE (Urolestes melanoleucus) . . . 273
SABLE ANTELOPE ALARMED BY BIRD-WARNING . . . 274
TURACUS CORYTHAIX ...... 276
TROPHIES AT BARINGO SHOT BY G. F. ARCHER TofdCe p. 278
GREEN MAMBAS ....... 282
" GOLDFINCH " AND HIS NEW OWNER . . To face p. 284
OUR HEADMAN (ON EXTREME RIGHT), ELMI TO AUTHOR'S LEFT,
ENOCH BEHIND HIM, DEAD LIONESS IN FRONT ESCAPED
CAMERA ..... To face p. 284
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
MY FIRST VIEW OF A SABLE BULL, "JUMPED UP WITH A SXORT " 291
LESSER KOODOO .... To face p. 292
AN 18 FT. PYTHON WITH WATERBUCK CALF IT HAD KILLED
To face p. 292
CROWNED CRANE . . . . . .312
KING LEOPOLD'S TOURACO (Gymnosc.hizorhis leopoldi) . . 326
EMIN'S BABBLER (Crateropus emini, ? ) . . . 328
DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING FLIGHT OF Mirofra fischeri . . 333
A WEAVER . . 334
ON SAFARI
CHAPTER I
AFRICA SOUTH AND EAST
INTRODUCTORY
SOUTH AFRICA when the world was young that is,
when we were young represented to those who had
inherited an adventurous spirit, and in whose breast a
love of the wild was innate, something that approached
the acme of terrestrial joys. Thereaway, our earlier
lessons had taught that, co-existent with the humdrum
monotony of a work-a-day world, there yet survived
a vast continent still absolutely unknown and unsub-
dued by man, and across whose vacant space there
sprawled, inscribed in burning letters on the map,
that vocal word, "Unexplored."
To no subsequent generation, as this world is
geologically constituted, can a similar condition ever
recur.
To such temperaments as indicated the rough, free
intangible life on an unknown veld, surrounded by
savage Nature, and with its concomitants of self-reliance
and self-resource, of difficulty, and sometimes of danger,
appealed to the verge of and, in some cases, beyond
the limits of self-restraint. The contemporary writings
of Cornwallis Harris, of Baldwin and of Gordon Gum-
ming were read and re-read till almost known by heart.
They fired boyish imagination ; but in my case circum-
stances forbade such realisation, since success comes
more surely to the plodder than to the adventurer.
2 ON SAFARI
A book that fascinated in only less degree was
HAWKER, and for five-and-twenty years I followed " the
Colonel" in what certainly represents the hardest and
most strenuous form of wild sport that is attainable
within our British Isles that of wildfowling afloat.
Then, after a quarter of a century, when there came
at length opportunity to visit the far-away veld of
South Africa, already its long-dreamt charm had faded.
During the second half of the nineteenth century the
erewhiles wondrous fauna of the sub-continent had
steadily, incredibly melted away before Boer breech-
loaders. 1
It was in May 1899 that the author first landed in
South Africa in those days of deep anxiety and unrest
that soon afterwards culminated in war. There still
roamed then on the broad bush-veld that lies towards
the Limpopo the superb sable and roan antelopes, the
koodoo, tsesseby and brindled gnu, waterbuck and
many more. The elephant, it is true, had finally disap-
peared ; so had the rhino, buffalo, giraffe and eland all
of these abundant but a generation before.
The first-named, however, all survived in some
numbers, together with smaller antelopes which, if less
imposing, are no less graceful. To have seen these
magnificent wild beasts in their haunts, and to have
secured specimens of most that, at least, was something
effected. It was, nevertheless, with a certain undefined
sense of disappointment or, at any rate, of aspirations
not fully realised that, after four months on the veld,
I turned homewards. The circumstance and condition
of wild-life had perceptibly changed. These were no
longer purely pristine. They had lost that ineffable
original charm of which I had read, and which it had been
1 Though the Boers, being the most numerous, were the chief
instruments of slaughter, yet other settlers were only less to blame
in the proportion of their numbers. The Boers, moreover, never
permitted the aboriginal natives to possess firearms ; and this, in
other territories (especially Portuguese), has been a deadly source of
destruction.
AFKICA SOUTH AND EAST 3
my hope to sec for myself. I voyaged homewards-
forced by the war to the long sea route by Mozambique
and Madagascar oppressed by a brooding sentiment
that I had lived too late, that those glorious scenes
described by old-time pioneers had vanished for ever
from the face of the earth.
These gloomy forebodings have fortunately proved
baseless have been scattered to the four winds by events
that followed. South Africa as a virgin hunting-field
exists no longer ; yet such spectacles of wild-life as fifty
years ago adorned its veld and karoo, with all the glory
of a pristine fauna every whit as rich, may yet be
enjoyed elsewhere in that vast continent. It is no
longer to the regions beyond the Zambesi that the
hunter must turn attention those regions where Mr.
Selous in my own time (since we were at Rugby together
in the 'sixties) has earned pre-eminence among naturalist-
hunters of all ages. No, the centre of attraction has
shifted northwards, far northward to the British terri-
tories that lie around the equator. There some of
Nature's wildest scenes, practically unchanged since the
days of creation, may yet be enjoyed. More than that.
These new regions are accessible as South Africa never
was at its zenith ; for these new hunting-grounds are
reached by steam all the way, on land and sea a simple
three- weeks' journey by ocean liner and corridor train.
That this renewal of virgin conditions which, it
seemed, had disappeared for ever, should, after all,
have been renewed to another century, followed on the
opening-up of the Uganda railway. That narrow ribbon
of steel (though it never reaches Uganda) pierces for
600 miles the heart of Equatorial Africa. After leaving
behind the coastal belt of forest and swamp, it sur-
mounts a 6,000-foot mountain-range and traverses all
the vast tablelands beyond, affording a tropical pano-
rama that must be seen to be believed. Never before,
nor ever again (it is safe to say) will there be pre-
sented to the view of casual passenger such spectacles
as to-day attend each train on that Uganda railway.
4 ON SAFARI
Countless herds of big wild beasts feed within sight of
carriage windows brindled gnu and zebra, hartcbeests
and gazelles, with other antelopes great and small,
giraffes and ostriches, even, by chance, a glimpse of
rhino, buffalo or lion. But all that is a thrice-told tale.
It is that unique railway, and the guiding star that
led me thereto, that are the fons et origo of this book.
Far-seeing and inspired was the genius that devised
that line and (with the courage of conviction) carried
out the scheme in face of the cheap rhetoric and narrow
horizons of the hour, bounded to thousands by the
corner of the street. Although, for the present, that
wild fauna is actually a chief asset of our East- African
colony, and the big-game hunter is to-day its most
profitable customer, it is nevertheless no mere fantastic
dream that pictures the equatorial highlands settled-up
within measurable period by British farmers and graziers,
the game displaced by flocks and herds, and Mombasa
competing with Argentina and the Antipodes for the
meat-supply of the Mother-land.
Save incidentally, such matters do not here concern
us. A feature that gratifies sportsman and nature-lover
alike is the treatment of the game in the British Pro-
tectorate. The Game-ordinances may not be ideal, nor
their execution all we could wish, but they are essen-
tially practical, and evince both a wise foresight and
a policy that has raised the whole plane of sport, as
practised in British territories, to a level that has never
elsewhere obtained in the Dark Continent.
Throughout South Africa hardly even the elementary
significance of our British term " sport" was ever under-
stood or thought of. With some notable exceptions, the
mounted rifleman of the south, with his after-rider and
repeating Mauser, was merely a butcher, a hunter of
hides and meat. I served an apprenticeship there before
coming here, and remember with loathing such expres-
sions as " wiping the floor " or " cutting stripes through
them" applied to some of the finest of animal forms.
No sense of respect for game, no admiration of its grace
AFRICA SOUTH AND EAST 5
or beauty, ever penetrated minds debased by decades of
slaughter. Game was nothing more than a target ;
after that, biltong, reims, and so on.
In the south no remedy will now avail. Over vast
areas, formerly abounding in game, it is too late, though
in the Transvaal a praiseworthy effort is being made by
the establishment of a " Game Reserve" in the Lebombo
bush- veld. 1
In British East Africa the contrast is striking and
welcome. The game, though wild and alert as the
desert-born will ever be, here retains its pristine nobility
and self-possession ; it is not merely the harassed and
terror-stricken remnant of devastated herds.
Our own initial experience in East Africa was un-
fortunate ; for within three days of reaching Nairobi the
author succumbed to malarial fever. With reluctance is
so purely personal a matter here mentioned, and only
because it is essential to the narrative and besides, the
incident may serve to save others from a like ill, so
simply contracted, so easily avoided.
Landing at Mombasa twenty days after leaving
London, one may reckon on at least a day or two's
delay at the terminal port while arranging the final
equipment of the expedition. Now Mombasa, lying
under the equator, is distinctly hot. There are hotter
places Aden, for example ; but at both sea-breezes
temper the sun, or are said to do so. However that
may be, at any rate when the up-country train finally
steams out of the station, the very last thing on earth
one is likely to think of as a necessary and hundreds
of articles are necessary for a three-mouths' sojourn
under canvas at that melting moment, as suggested,
the very last desiderata one thinks of are warm wraps,
ulsters and blankets. The mere idea is repugnant.
1 This is a region expressly adapted by nature for such a pur-
pose, and practically useless for any other. Owing to its low-lying
situation, reeking with malaria, it is uninhabitable by hximan kind,
white or black, except only during the dry winter months June to
October. Thirty or forty years ago it abounded with big game of
every kind, from elephants downwards.
6 ON SAFARI
Yet it was precisely the lack of these necessaries (in
the carriage beside me) that proved my undoing.
The Uganda railway, after traversing the 100-mile
coast-belt the low-lying, malarial Taru desert at once
ascends to the highland plateaux beyond. During
that first night's journey the traveller is carried up to
nearly 4,000 ft. above sea-level, and into a temperature
that, by comparison, chills with a marrow-piercing cold.
At sundown you are melting ; before midnight, frozen.
When darkness closes in the scene is truly tropical :
there are palms, bananas, papyrus and the rest. When
daylight dawns it reveals bramble and bracken, sometimes
even hoar-frost.
This night-cold cuts to the bone unless one is
provided with the simple necessary wraps, in my case
overlooked. The result was an internal chill, followed
by colic, terminating in fever.
Cruel was the disappointment. Already, while
traversing the Athi Plains, we had witnessed the abund-
ance of wild game, and keenness to get among them
passed all bounds ; yet now, for a weary fortnight, I
was held up with fever and a temperature anywhere
around 106 degrees. Lucky, indeed, that this occurred
at Nairobi, where there was a medico of sorts, rough
though kindly, and where prescriptions were (in those
days) dispensed in empty beer-bottles. Nairobi's single
wood-built hotel of that epoch (since burnt out), run on
the usual free-and-easy colonial lines, compares not with
the palatial structures of the modern capital (things
move fast thereaway), yet was thoroughly comfortable.
More than that, at the hands of the two Miss Raynes
busy as they were with a thousand more important
things I received during this illness a care and attention
that will ever remain a grateful memory.
Meanwhile, within an afternoon's walk of the town,
my brother Walter had found abundant game harte-
beests and zebra, gazelles, ostrich, cranes and bustard
and had already opened our score. But, so soon as the
crisis of the fever had passed, he left me and went on
AFRICA SOUTH AND EAST 7
alone with the " Safari " as a mobilised hunting ex-
pedition is called ; for it was obviously inadvisable to
keep a crowd of between forty and fifty " boys " idle
among the many temptations of Nairobi.
In Equatoria, it should be explained, there is none
of that monotonous " trekking- in " by ox-waggon that
characterised South-African hunting trekking that often
occupied wearisome weeks ere a game-country was
reached. Here the terror of the tsetse-fly has eliminated
all that, and transport, away from the railway, is entirely
effected upon the heads of native porters. Thence
springs the genesis of the " Safari."
A feature in this fever was the rapid recovery.
On the day when the doctor told me I might start on
the morrow I found myself too weak to stand upright
unaided, and next morning required support on both
sides to limp as far as the station, though barely two
hundred yards away. It seemed madness to go ; yet I
obeyed and went, with the result that within forty-eight
hours I could do a twelve-hours' march and after that
was as fit as ever, and remained so during three months'
hunting. The experience seems eloquent of the superb
climate of these highlands and of its recuperative
qualities.
Possibly there may exist, in that combination of
equatorial sun-power tempered by high altitude, some
health-giving property, an elixir, that yet remains to
be defined by medical science. I feel it nothing less
than East Africa's due to mention that after each of my
expeditions therein (despite the accidental ill-luck of get-
ting malarial fever) I have personally felt reinvigorated
and about five years younger ! Permanent residence
there may, of course, be quite a different matter.
On reaching my destination at Eburu that evening,
after seven hours' railway journey, it was both surprising
and grateful to notice the evident pleasure shown by
our retinue of " savages " at my recovery, though I was,
so far, almost a total stranger to them all. They
crowded round the carriage, and on seeing that I had
8
ON SAFARI
difficulty in descending there are no platforms in the
wilds lifted me down and almost carried me to our
camp, which was pitched on a rugged hillside above.
Next morning a smiling Swahili presented me with a
stout staff of M'piqui wood that I have since carried over
thousands of miles in Africa, and which I still use at
home. This slight tribute to the savage Swahili shall
not be omitted.
.SING-SING WATERBUCK abnormal head.
THE EQUATORIAL TRENCH
HUNTING IN THE RIFT VALLEY (EBURU TO THE
ENDERIT RIVER)
THE Equatorial Trench is an old-time geological fissure
that bisects British East Africa from north to south.
It is stated that the course of the Trench is traceable
northwards across the Red Sea into the Jordan Valley
in Palestine. However that may be, at least the
Trench is visible enough in these latitudes, where it is
known as the Rift Valley. Every passenger on the
Uganda railway must realise its existence when, shortly
after passing Limoru (400 miles from the coast), the
train suddenly dips away beneath him, plunging down-
wards in what appears a mad descent through tropical
forest, to a station yclept " Escarpment."
Within a mile or two he has been hurled into an
abyss, dropping from 7,500 ft. elevation at Limoru
to 5,800 ft. on the Enderit River. Those are the
engineers' figures; though mere cold numerals convey but
little idea of its sense of vastness. And on the opposite
side the phenomenon is equally conspicuous. For, after
traversing the floor of the Trench (some 40 miles across),
the line rises again in gradients hardly less abrupt,
reaching an altitude of 8,000 ft. on the Mau Plateau.
The width of the Trench varies from 40 to 60 miles,
its floor averaging 2,000 ft. below the flanking mountain-
walls that enclose it Laikipia on the east, Kamasea on
the west.
Within this depression lies the great chain of lakes,
9
10 ON SAFARI
including those few that fall within my own narrow
limits, to wit Nakuru, Elmenteita, Naivasha and
Baringo.
Eburu was the spot whereat we had decided to
commence our operations. It is merely the name of
a rugged volcanic range lying at the verge of the Rift
at a point where the hills open out upon rolling
prairie and the basin of the Enderit River.
Eburu proved an awkward place to encamp, there
being absolutely neither wood nor water ; for both of
which prime necessaries we were dependent on the
good- will of the baboo station-master. Since then the
station has been abandoned, and Eburu has reverted to
primaeval desolation.
That first morning in camp, as the grey light
strengthened to the dawn, we perceived, high overhead
on the mountain-side, what appeared to be columns of
smoke. These, for one unhappy moment, suggested
that other camp-fires desecrated our vale. "We were
reassured on learning that these were geysers jets of
steam issuing from fissures in the plutonic rock. No
other inhabitants, indeed save baboons, which barked
and chattered from the rocks above, and others of
savage nature abused our solitude. The name Eburu,
we were told, in the Masai tongue signifies " steam."
Our object in making Eburu our starting-point was
to obtain here specimens of Chanler's reedbuck, an
elusive little antelope that, belying its name and
abandoning the marshy habitat of its congeners (save
one), elects to live, chamois-like, on rocks and rugged
mountain-faces. That one exception is the so-called
Rhooi rhebok (Cervicapra fulvorufula) of South
Africa, which, although a true reedbuck, is also, like
the present', of mountain-loving habit.
Chanler's reedbuck is only a small species, weighing
some 70 Ibs., and was quite abundant on the rocks of
Eburu ; we found it, nevertheless, a most troublesome
trophy to secure. Its head and neck are tawny yellow,
yet so precisely does the body-colour assimilate with
HUNTING IN THE RIFT .VALLEY 11
its grey-rock environment as to be practically invisible
at any considerable distance. The creature, moreover,
is the very incarnation of watchful alertness : the
GREY PHANTOMS OF THE HOCKS
(CHANLER'S REEDBUCKS).
immense ears and full, prominent eyes set high on an
elevated forehead bespeak such qualities. Graceful in
the extreme and most interesting to watch were these
little rock-skippers as they sprang from crag to crag or
filed up precipitous ledges, whistling, and flirting their
12
ON SAFARI
white-fringed tails; but they proved "too much" for
us. They were in little groups of three or four up to a
dozen, and all day the bucks kept beyond my reach,
though on several occasions the hornless does were
within shot.
Being still weak from fever, I found this hill-
climbing rather heavy work, and thought to organise
a "drive." This,
however, proved a
system hard to in-
stil into the savage
mind, and though
I got one shot, it
scored a miss. This
was a nice buck,
about 100 yards
below ; but the
aggravating bullet
splintered the rock
some six inches too
high. Chanler's
reedbuck beat us
both here and on
other occasions ; for
we met with it again on the crater of Meningai, at
Baringo and elsewhere. It is common, we found, on
every rocky range or series of detached koppies, yet it
was not till our second East-African venture that we at
length secured a first example.
Another rock-jumper, of which we did secure
specimens among the Eburu hills, is the klipspringer
an even smaller antelope, the bucks only weighing 25 Ibs.
The upright hoofs resemble those of ibex rather than
antelope, and the spoor, when crossing soft ground,
gives an impression that the animal walks on tiptoe ;
but among rocks the klipspringer equals the chamois
in bouncing agility. Klipspringers, probably from
having been but little disturbed at this spot, were less
wild than the other rock-antelopes. They seemed to
SUNBIRDS
HUNTING IN THE KIFT VALLEY 13
rely on a mistaken confidence that mere altitude in the
crag-faces lent security against a rifle-ball. It was,
nevertheless, difficult enough to distinguish precisely
their small grey forms, 300 ft. above, from the broken
rocks that surrounded them.
Next morning, while watching a group of reedbucks
on the crags, in hopes of securing an opportunity to
stalk, suddenly three impala (one good buck) appeared
on the hill above. Then, to our disgust, six Masai
walked right across our front, taking not the slightest
notice till we hailed them with a request that they
would be good enough to go somewhere else. Each of
these savages carried the usual double-edged spear and
customary ornaments (such as quarter-pound 'baccy
tins) stuck in their ears, being otherwise stark naked.
Later on we discovered that these were the advance-
guard of a migrating tribe, a body of which had spent
the night in one of the huge volcanic chasms, where they
might have enjoyed warm baths free. It is doubtful,
however, whether nomad Masai appreciate such luxuries.
This intrusion was most unwelcome when we needed
a whole country to ourselves. Nairobi, moreover, when
we left it a week before (July 1904) had been seething
with rumours of native unrest, Masai risings, and the
like. These, we knew, were quite unfounded, resting on
a reported decision of the authorities to move the
aborigines back from the railway so as to make room
for settlers. Then, as it were lending grounds for such
fears, a detachment of 400 " Yaos " (King's African
Rifles), arriving in three train-loads the troopship
Clive from Berbera had entered Mombasa with us
created quite a small panic. But these good black
troops were, after all, only returning from chasing the
Mad Mullah ! Those who select savage lands for a
home should not give way to fears of " excursions and
alarms."
The removal of the Masai into the Laikipia
" Reserve " was eventually carried out without the
slightest disturbance of the peace.
14
ON SAFARI
Owing, however, to this untimely Masai intrusion,
we shifted our camp a dozen miles from Eburu into the
valley of the Enderit River, enjoying during that march
some memorable spectacles of wild animal-life.
SKETCH-MAP OF COUNTRY FROM EBURU TO NAKURU.
Beyond the rugged foothills of Eburu stretches a
region of open forest which, at this date, literally
teemed with game. Herd upon herd of zebras, Neu-
mann's hartebeest, impala and the large Grant's gazelle
HUNTING IN THE RIFT VALLEY 15
filled the view. Further on, where forest gave place to
open grassy prairie, all these were literally in thousands,
though the impala always frequent the fringe of the
covert. We saw no elands at this date, but the plains
were alive with herds of the smaller gazelle (Thomsoni)
darting about and chasing each other in sprightly
exuberance. Besides these were wart-hogs, ostriches and
SPOTTED HYENA.
great kori bustards, while crowned cranes in threes and
fours stalked sedately through the throng. Jackals
loped hither and thither, and, further away, a gaunt
hyena, looking big as a lioness, shambled across the
plain, its long neck held stiffly forward at an upward
angle and tail carried low between the legs.
At one point we counted thirty-one ostriches close
together thirteen in the nearer pack, two of which
were big old cocks, and eighteen more a little beyond.
Hard by them a herd of zebra were feeding, and in the
foreground a group of marabou storks held an inquest
over some bones.
Strikingly handsome objects were the crowned
cranes just mentioned, big birds of boldly-marked
plumage velvety-black, with rich chestnut wings and
16
ON SAFARI
snow-white undersides that showed up in strong contrast
as they rose in flight. The curious wood-ibis (Pseudo-
tantalus ibis) was also conspicuous among the trees that
fringe the Enderit a big stork-like species with heavy
curved beak, naked head and neck of bright orange hue,
and of black-and-white plumage, but displaying rosy
glints, somewhat like a flamingo, when flying. By a
shallow water-splash sat Egyptian geese, some preen-
ing, others asleep strangely unsuspicious for that
watchful tribe. Hard by,
however, \vere a dozen
of the noisy spur- winged
plovers (Hoplopterus),
and these, as their habit
is, speedily set the rest
on the alert. From each
patch of covert sprang
or ran great packs
of helmeted guinea-fowl,
francolins, quail, and
"jumping hares," the
latter bouncing a yard
in air at intervals as
they sped away. There
were quaint hornbills (Lo2)hoceros) , bee-eaters and
bush-cuckoos, while gorgeous little sunbirds fluttered
over each flowering shrub. A fantastic bird-form, of
which we saw a pair to-day, is the mop-headed touraco
(Turacus), with a ringing voice that sounds almost
human. On the thorny mimosas by the riverside sat
white-headed eagles (Haliaetus vocifer) that rose as we
passed, startling the echoes with strident cries.
All day long the spy-glass was kept employed,
examining some new thing. We were here, zoologically
speaking, in a new world the " Ethiopian Region "
and its wealth of wild-life was bewildering. Intense
interest kept us going without desire to kill ; indeed, for
several marches we shot little beyond what was actually
necessary to feed our caravan.
HEAD OF HELMETED GUINEA-FOWL.
HUNTING IN THE KIFT VALLEY
17
The sun was nearly dipping when, after a twelve-
hours' march, we reached our camp, already pitched in
a lovely grove by the Euderit here merely a muddy
creek dawdling in the depths of a bush-clad donga.
While we dined that happy evening under a spreading
mimosa, the evening's peace was broken by our friends
the crowned cranes filing overhead in noisy skeins to
roost in the tall fever-trees beyond. Ducks were flighting
in the gloom up the river, and, ere we turned in, lions
commenced to " call " in the woods below.
CROWNED HORNBILL Lophoceros melanoleucus.
CHAPTER III
THE EQUATORIAL TRENCH (Continued}
ON THE ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU
OUR camp on the Enderit River was surrounded by
park-like country, alternating between bush and broad,
open prairie, with part forest and glades of infinite
beauty, while everywhere the landscape was bounded
by the peaks and scaurs of distant mountains.
Lovely as. was our prospect, yet scarce a sign of its
tropical site obtruded on
the view, or proclaimed
the fact that we sat
practically astride the
equator. In these up-
lands, the absence of
such evidence is con-
spicuous. Neither groves
of graceful palms, with
their troops of monkeys
and nights of shrieking
parrots, nor tree-ferns
with feathery frondage,
or other fantastic forms
of foliage and plant-life
such as one associates
DRONGO.
as one
with the torrid zone,
here arrest one's gaze. On the contrary, the landscape
of Enderit, as viewed afar, might well-nigh pass for a
British scene not, it is true, in the crowded south or
the tame cultivation of the midlands, but rather amid
those wilder regions of my own northern home, where
Nature yet reigns unsubdued, unfenced, " unimproved."
There, as here, a shaggy fringe of self-sown scrub or
bush marks the course of winding burns ; natural woods
18
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 19
cling to the steeps above or straggle irregular across the
plain, while crag and mountain-ridge fill in the back-
ground. Species differ, but form remains not dissimilar.
This morning, ere yet the dawn was fully established,
a weird melody caught my ear, and, looking from the
tent, I saw its author on the topmost bough of an acacia
a glossy starling-like bird with deeply-forked tail.
This was a drongo (Dict^urus musicus), one of the
shrike family, and a warrior to boot, albeit a songster ;
for never a kite or crow, not even an eagle, venturing
near our camp, was immune from its furious onslaught. 1
While sipping the matutinal coffee I could actually see
herds of wild animals peacefully grazing within view
from my camp-bed ! On putting the glass on to these,
I found they included zebras and Thomson's gazelles ;
while further away the ruddy pelts of hartebeests were
distinguishable.
The latter, in this district, are the rather scarce
Neumann's hartebeest (Bubalis neumanni), and to
secure specimens of these formed our first and main
objective on the Enderit.
The first animal actually shot on the Enderit, how-
ever, was a zebra, and, while skinning proceeded, 1
enjoyed watching that ever- wondrous spectacle of wild
African life, the assembling of the carnivora. Life was
hardly extinct ere dark shadows passed and repassed on
the sere grass hard by. Looking upwards, the heavens
were flecked with circling hordes. Soon the smaller
vultures (dark-brown neophrons with livid pink faces)
descended with collapsed wings, alighting with resonant
rush all around us, many within thirty yards. Then
the huge carrion- vultures (the African griffon, Pseudo-
gyps africanus, deep brown with conspicuous white
patches on lower body, and the still blacker Eared
vulture, Lophogyps auricularis, with red ear-lobes)
1 A drongo will remain perched by the hour on a bough,
watching for passing insects. Presently he darts down, catches one,
sometimes two or three in rapid succession, then returns to his post,
exactly as our flycatchers do at home.
20 ON SAFARI
settled in groups further away, forming an outer circle,
and amidst these I saw over the grass the sharp cocked
ears of jackals. Some crowned cranes also stalked
through the group, but these were merely locust-
catching, and had no interest in our procedure. The
case was different with their congeners, the adjutants or
marabou, several of which, dropping from the sky, fell
into line with the outer circle of vultures, while
others continued sailing overhead. The policy of these
latter seemed to be to make sure that the feast would
"go round." They wanted to see how much zebra we
intended to leave behind. Sailing aloft is no trouble to
them, and they did not mean to descend till sure of at
least a few mouthfuls apiece. Within half-an-hour the
nearer vultures had disappeared. They had not gone,
but, being tired of waiting, had squatted down to sleep
in the grass. Some jackals had done the same, but
others stood sentry. Elmi Hassan (my Somali hunter)
now pointed out a new arrival three hyenas. These,
however, kept at safe distance.
On other occasions, vultures have continued circling
overhead during the entire process of off-skinning. But
ere one has retired fifty yards down sweeps the whole
crowd with mighty rush of wing, assembling around the
carcase in a surging, seething, tearing mass.
This zebra (Equus burchelli-granti) was a stallion in
his prime, apparently eight to ten years old, and ex-
hibited (what is unusual in East Africa) the paler,
shadow-like stripes interposed between the main black
bands. The striping, broad and boldly contrasted, as in
all East- African examples, extended completely over the
whole body, including the tail, and down the entire leg
to the fetlocks. This is the form once differentiated as
E. chapmani. 1 The further south it is found the less
complete becomes the striping of the zebra. In the
typical Equus burchelli of Cape Colony (now probably
extinct) this striping was confined to the body only, the
1 I notice that Mr. F. C. Selous refers to this East-African form
(in lit,) as E. grant i.
ENDERIT E1VER AND LAKE NAKURU 21
legs being plain white ; and of the legs of two pairs of
zebra that 1 shot in the Transvaal and happened to keep,
one is almost pure white from the knee downwards, the
second pair being striped to the pasterns. In A Breath
. from the Veld Mr. J. G. Millais shows all his zebra, shot
in Mashonaland, with plain white legs. Again, in the
true quagga (E. qiif.iyya long since exterminated) the
striping, half obsolete at best, was confined to the head,
neck and shoulders only. This was the southernmost
form of all.
It seems obvious that in this case systematists have
had the bad luck to begin at the wrong end of the
range, since it is from the north that the true aboriginal
type of zebra has come, dispersing thence southwards.
The largest and handsomest zebra of all a trulv dis-
./
tinct species E. yrevyi, is still restricted to the north
of the equator ; while the southernmost form, typified
as true Burchell's, is really a mere degenerate variation
of the original, heavily-striped type, E. chapmani.
Personally I am no advocate for splitting species merely
on such grounds as colour- variation, and am not even
prejudiced by the claims of a namesake !
During our first week's shooting at this charming
spot we obtained good specimens of most of the local
game, and the pile of horned heads and pegged-out skins
behind our tents made an imposing show. The harte-
beests, however, had so far defied our efforts; they were
in fair numbers, but excessively wild, and the open
plain lent no assistance. Rarely do these large and
handsome antelopes trust themselves within forest or
bush, and, even if found therein, keep constantly on the
move, as though ever conscious of the dangers lurking
within covert. One evening (July 27), when my brother
and I had gone out together, we descried a dozen
kongoni feeding by the rushy foreshores of Lake
Nakuru, between the water and the forest-belt that
fringes it. While engaged on this stalk, I espied
beneath the trees on my right an animal that com-
pletely puzzled me. It was a great shaggy beast, very
22
ON SAFARI
dark, and with horns of a span which, in the gloom of the
forest and waning light, almost suggested buffalo. To
this I transferred my attention ; but the first shot, at
about 300 yards, missed, and it looked any odds on a
total loss when the unknown beast disappeared, gallop-
ing among the timber. We followed fast, and luckily
"GAZING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION" (WATERBUCK).
picked up view as he left the woods, and, changing his
course, came cantering back across an open prairie
towards our rear. Then, by fortunate chance, he spied
my brother, who, with the " boys," had remained
behind. The game pulled up sharp, his magnificent car-
riage and contour recalling a colossal red stag in Land-
seer's bravest type. The intervening plain was dotted
with isolated forest-trees, each springing from a bushy
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 23
base, and while this splendid animal stood fixedly gazing
in the wrong direction, I succeeded, by creeping and
running from tree to tree, in gaining a range of just
under 300 yards. Then, in happy moment, I dropped
him clean with a *303 bullet in the base of the neck.
My prize proved to be a Sing- sing waterbuck bull
(defassa), carrying horns of 28| ins. What had
deceived me was the abnormal breadth of horn. These,
not being set regularly, reached the extraordinary span
of 30 ins. between tips a measurement exceeding any
given in Rowland Ward's Records. I killed another
sing-sing bull a few days later, but in that animal,
though the horns reached 27^ ins., the span between
tips was under a foot. In his dark, shaggy coat, with
which the white collar and facial markings so strongly
contrast, the sing- sing is an altogether handsomer
animal than the common waterbuck. Both species
24 ON SAFAEI
are iron-grey in colour, the sing-sing perhaps slightly
browner than Cobus ellipsiprymnus ; but the colour
shown in the plate of C. defassa in the Book of
Antelopes (vol. ii, plate xxxvi) is wrong, unless the
seasonal range of colour is very great. A white band
surrounds each fetlock immediately above the hoof, and
is conspicuous at a considerable distance. The dead-
weight of this animal would be about 500 Ibs.
Waterbuck do not show up by day in anything like
the same degree as the other large game mentioned,
their habit being to lie hidden in thick covert till
towards evening, when they emerge upon the lovely
parks and open pastures that fringe the river. One of
these spots in particular, adjoining the confluence of the
two Enderit Rivers with Lake Nakuru, was indeed a
charming picture perhaps 500 acres in extent, dotted
with forest-trees singly or in clumps, and entirely inset
among woodland and thick jungle, which fringed the
banks of either river. It literally teemed with herds of
varied game, and forms the subject of Mr. Caldwell's
drawing opposite.
My first sing-sing gave me a lesson of caution in
handling these heavy horned beasts. Elmi, finding
himself unable alone to administer the coup de grdce,
asked me to " stand on the horn." This I did, grasping
the upper horn with both hands, while Elmi stood on
the tip, outside me. Such, however, was the tremendous
power developed by the big bull in a final struggle that
both of us were thrown yards through the air. I also
received a blow in the ribs from the other horn, and, as
Elmi then fell on top of me, I got a shaking that I did
not forget for a day or two. The incident, however, ap-
parently caused merriment to my brother and the "boys,"
who came up at that moment. Leaving the latter to
bring in the meat, we two walked campwards, and on
the way ran into a prowling tiger-cat, which managed to
bounce through bush without offering a shot. During
the subsequent hunt we lost our bearings, and, as it
was now dark, passed a bad half-hour ere we descried
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 25
the camp-fires, what time lions were beginning to
call.
Next morning I secured my first pair of Grant's
gazelle, the buck by a shot in base of neck at over 250
yards. He formed one of a group of thirty or forty
GRANT S GAZELLES.
animals widely scattered among sparse bush, but his
was the only good head. He carried massive annulated
horns of 23 ins., by seven in basal circumference, and with
the wide span of 16 ins. between tips. The doe I got by
a little impromptu drive, killing her with a Paradox ball
as she flew past at eighty yards a lovely creature with
horns of 15f ins. My brother also brought in a Grant
buck,- the horns being identical in length with mine, but
narrower, the span being only 11 ins. Next day I got
a good impala ram after a nerve-trying stalk through
open rush-clad straths. These were, however, traversed
26 ON SAFARI
in all directions by the curious double spoor of hippo-
potamiregular roads, by which these huge amphibians
came out to graze at night, and along which we could
creep unseen. This impala was lord of a harem of no less
than thirty-two does, and I thought him the best in our
valley ; but my brother later on got a solitary ram that
beat him by half-an-inch.
These two antelopes, the impala and Grant's gazelle,
carry as fine trophies as any game on earth, having
regard to their proportionate size. Both species average
from 10 to 12 stones in weight say the size of a red
deer hind yet their horns, massive and beautiful in
sweeping curves,' run to 26 and 28 ins. in length ;
" record " specimens reaching nearly 30 ins.
That afternoon, during the midday rest in camp, we
were visited by a deputation of Masai. These stalwart
savages absolutely naked save for some ornaments
suspended from their ears (I took these things to be
ornaments) each carried a murderous double-bladed
spear, long enough to impale three enemies at once.
(The blades of some I brought home exceed 3 ft. in
length.) After much palaver, we understood our friends'
message to be as follows : That morning a lion had
attacked their herds. They had driven him off, and he
had taken shelter in some bush, where they had left men
to watch till we could arrive to shoot the depredator.
We set off at once, and on reaching the place (an hour's
walk) found the country quite open, with some thin
bush. There was much running hither and thither, and
much gesticulation by crowds of excited Masai. This
at length resolved itself into general concentration upon
one patch of low brushwood barely an acre in extent,
Towards this scores of spears now eagerly pointed, but
both the Masai and our own " boys " hung severely
back. Consequently W- and I reached the bush
alone, each attended only by his gun-bearer.
For a moment, I must admit, I hesitated to walk
into that bush with a live lion inside it ; but, as our
whole line stood halted dead to windward, and within
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 27
forty yards of the patch, and nothing moved, I signalled
to W and we went in. Hardly had we advanced
ten steps when I saw a long cat-like form crouching off
through the thin tail of the bush some seventy yards
ahead. It seemed small for a lion, but I put in both
barrels of the Paradox, Elmi, with my second gun,
dashing right past me. This was utterly wrong on his
"WHILE i HELD AN EMITY GUN" (LEOPARD).
part, and a breach of al] rules. At that moment, while
I held an empty gun, a truly magnificent leopard leaped
from the bush within thirty yards, and I was left
absolutely helpless, to admire her infinite grace as she
silently bounded past my front.
What an unending catastrophe was that business of
Babel ! Had we only understood at the beginning,
amid the polyglot jumble of tongues, that it was two
leopards we were after, instead of one lion, as we had
gathered, then surely both would not have escaped
28
ON SAFARI
possibly neither. Elmi's impetuosity in any case lost
me the second. Both shots at the first had missed. I
was unlucky with leopards this trip. A few days later
I lost another good chance through the same linguistic
curse. There were some waterbuck on a rocky ridge.
Whilst stalking these, Elmi spied a leopard and explained
something which I did not understand, but he was keen,
and I followed. We reached a bare grass-opening. A
single thorn-tree stood in its centre, and beneath that
one tree lay the leopard, in shortish grass, scarce fifty
yards away. ie Shoot," whispered Elmi ; adding, " In the
bushes, lying down." Still imagining we were after the
waterbuck, which I presumed had moved, I scanned
every bush on that koppie beyond thrice as far away
as lay the leopard. At last I saw, but too late. Ere I
got my sights the leopard jumped. I waited in hopes
he might stand ; and stand he did, but not till close
on the ridge of the koppie, 200 yards off. My ball
splintered the rock a hand's-breadth over his shoulder
a near thing, but a miss. Had Elmi only said, " Under
the tree," that beast could hardly have escaped ; what
he did say was misleading in the last
degree.
Although describing this last animal
as a leopard, I have since satisfied
myself that it was in reality a cheetah,
which habitually lies out thus in the
open, whereas the leopard never does
so. It is a noteworthy circumstance
that the cheetah, though in general
appearance closely resembling a leopard,
and certainly allied to the Felidce, yet
possesses a dog-foot that is, its claws
are blunt and hardly, if at all, retractile.
MASAI CATTLE-BELL -A- charming feature of the shooting
PICKED UP ON ENDERIT. i n East Africa is the bush-stalking.
Now, stalking in bush may appear
a simple problem, and so, no doubt, with a single animal,
when stationary, it sometimes is. Such chances, however,
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 29
seldom occur, for the game here, such as zebra, eland,
hartebeest, impala, waterbuck, gazelles, wart-hog and
grass-antelopes of sorts, are nearly always in herds, and
those herds, while among bush, are moving about on
the feed. Hence the problem is not simple. Firstly,
the stalker must get forward at a fair speed or he will
lose touch. Then in a herd, say, of a dozen, there will
probably be only one really good head. The other
eleven are only so many nuisances and sources of
danger. All the eleven must, nevertheless, be held
under accurate observation, or else some insignificant
little beastie, appearing at an unexpected spot, will ruin
the whole operation. Bush-stalking, in short, is an art
in itself, affording difficult, but withal very pretty,
manoeuvring. The hunter who has singled out the
master-buck, held him in all his vagaries, avoided the
keen view of the other eleven, and finally secured the
prize, has done good work.
More often, instead of eleven, there will be forty,
fifty or sixty undesired individuals whose gaze it is
necessary to shun.
Two difficulties deserve mention. First, the ever-
shifting wind, which changes, both in force and direction,
with the changing hours of the day. This trouble is
common to all tropical Africa, but is specially pronounced
in this great Rift Valley, which, though its floor averages
6,000 ft. elevation, is yet shut in by loftier mountain-
ranges of 10,000 to 14,000 ft. in altitude, and distant
some thirty to fifty miles apart. Hence the light airs
move in puffs and eddies, wafting scent one knows not
whither. When, after infinite care, one has gained the
deadly range, and is scrutinising each horn in the
herd to make sure of killing the best, suddenly, with-
out a moment's warning, up goes every head. Some
treacherous back-set breeze has betrayed us, and in an
instant the game is gone, swift and silent as a thought.
The second danger lies in the presence of so many
creatures that lie hidden. I pass over the francolins and
guinea-fowl, since they are no worse than the cockling
30
ON SAFARI
grouse that scares a Highland stag. Here more serious
obstacles confront the stalker, in particular the " grass-
antelopes," duikers and steinbucks, dik-diks and such-like,
that often start from underfoot precisely at the critical
moment, and, by bouncing away, leaping over bush and
branch, disturb everything else within sight. Then a
great wart-hog, twenty stone in weight, may spring
from his lair, grunting and snorting, with all bristles
WART-HOG.
erect and tail upright as a flagstaff, as he crashes through
brushwood and thorn. In each case the stalker's labour
is lost. But at least in East Africa I have never been
thwarted by birds that is, by the honey-guides
(Indicator), the louries and social shrikes, that in the
Transvaal so often gave a note of warning to otherwise
unsuspecting game.
Charming examples of animal-instinct approximat-
ing to reason constantly occur to the silent stalker.
Thus the savage wart-hog aforesaid may dash, snorting
and tail erect, through herds of grazing gazelles. Up
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 31
in a moment goes every head ; but never a glance is
vouchsafed at the immediate disturber of their peace,
nor in his ultimate direction. Their united gaze is con-
centrated towards the point
whence he had come, and
precisely where there now
lies a mind-tormented hun-
ter. Again, in advancing on
one group of game, the
stalker may elect to take
what appears a safe risk by
exposing himself maybe but
for a few yards to the view
of other game far more dis-
tant, possibly half - a - mile
away. But should these
latter detect his movement,
they will at once by stand-
ing at gaze signal to all
within view the presence of
danger. The nearer game
the objects of pursuit
though absolutely out of sight of the stalker lying
prone in the grass, at once cease grazing or resting,
and assume the alert. Their gaze is directed not to-
wards an invisible foe, but towards the watching sentinels
beyond, which had given the alarm, and on whose acute
senses they are content to rely for their own protection.
Should, however, that distant group, relying partly on
their own remoteness, but more largely on the fact that
since that one alarming glimpse they have seen nothing
more for during the subsequent half-hour the detected
stalker has lain motionless, careless alike of biting ants,
spiky thorns and sunstroke should they either recom-
mence feeding or begin slowly to move away, then the
nearer game will also forget their fears and the stalk is
resumed.
Following are notes copied from diary
August 1. Far away on the verge of distant bush,
GREY LOURY.
32
ON SAFARI
my eye caught on some reddish object that might, I
thought, be an impala. This, on bringing the glass to
bear, proved to be correct; but that impala was then
seen to be standing in the midst of a troop of zebras,
completely surrounded by them ! Yet these latter had
entirely escaped notice by the unaided eye.
The apparently conspicuous zebra is, in practice,
often very difficult to distinguish at any considerable
distance among bush. Beyond, say, 500 yards (more
or less, according to the light) the broad black-and-
white stripes blend into a grey monotone almost invisible.
In the open, of course, they are visible enough.
Naturally, when viewed against the sun zebras
appear dark, while in sunlight they look white. I
recollect a single zebra at sunrise resembling a figure of
fretted silver as he stood among green bushes in the
early horizontal rays. Giraffes also, seen in ordinary
light, assume a monotone when beyond some 700 or
800 yards' distance. That quality of colour-protection
has, however, a strictly limited value, otherwise the red
impala would stand in bad case.
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 33
August 3. While stalking a group of three harte-
beests, iii creeping across a belt of tall grass I detected,
through interlacing stalks, a small antelope close in front.
Its head was held pressed flat on the ground, its full dark
eyes fixed on mine, not six feet apart. By the short
upright horns and dark blaze on the face I judged it to
be an oribi ; but being all anxiety to secure the coveted
Neumann bull in front, I declined the chance to add
what would also have been a new and interesting species
to our game-list, and eventually got neither.
Lions were numerous on the Enderit. We came to
regard their opening notes, usually heard at our various
camps about 10 p.m., as the signal for turning-in.
There is heavy bush along the riverside, and we never
saw a lion here by day, though we twice fell in with
tiger-cats, and once with a brownish lynx that was pro-
bably a caracal. A dark-looking beast that I had thought
was also of the felines Elmi assured me was a "Yea,"
a name which in the Somali tongue signifies a hunting-
dog (Lycaon pictus). It was alone, slowly pottering
along, and presently lay down in long grass where I got
near enough, but made a bad miss, running, with the
carbine. Another animal identified through its Somali
name of " Shook-shook " was of the Herpestes genus, a
big brown mongoose. When first observed it was lying
under a thick laurel-like shrub by the riverside, devour-
ing a francolin ; but a bullet from the Paradox caused
it to emit so overpowering an odour that further interest
in the specimen was impossible. It was as large as an
otter, with a conspicuous bushy tuft projecting above and
beyond the tail. We frequently saw smaller mongoose,
especially in the early mornings, inquisitive little beasties,
though never observed to run in a string as they do in
Spain. Other pretty creatures are the ground-squirrels,
ruddy-brown in colour, that remind one of marmots as
they sit upright for a moment, watching, before dis-
appearing down their holes.
Besides all these, other beautiful antelopes abounded
in our happy hunting-grounds amidst profusion it is
34 ON SAFARI
difficult to do justice to all. Bushbuck inhabited the
dense "lion-scrub" that fringed the east river. These,
like the waterbuck. are nocturnal. We saw them at
dawn ; and, shortly before sundown, they again showed
up outside the jungle, feeding among the scattered trees.
One special buck attracted my attention coal-black he
appeared in his glossy pile. Next evening, punctual to
a minute, he appeared with his three does. The river
here, to our great vexation, we found impassable owing
to the thorny jungle that fringed it. Presently Elmi
discovered a sort of tunnel about 3 ft. high pre-
sumably the property of a hippo and down this we
had crawled nearly to the water's edge, when, from our
side, something (we could not see what) plunged with
sounding splash into the pool. " Big croc," whispered
Elmi. It was very tantalising, but the result was that,
after ascertaining the depth to exceed a yard, our coveted
bushbuck ram was left to feed in peace on the other
bank. An intense aversion to reptiles especially great
subaquatic reptiles possesses most of us, and a recol-
lection of that picture in Arthur Neumann's Elephant
Hunting, p. 309, does not allay it.
Then there were the " grass-antelopes." Every day
as we traversed the bush in search of bigger things, the
ubiquitous duiker and steinbuck kept bouncing out from
long grass or thin scrub at thirty or forty yards' distance
Both these little antelopes move very high by the stern,
and being fat to boot, convey an idea of exaggerated
footballs as they dive away through the bush. Smaller
still are the dikdiks, also numerous, and all hereabouts
of the "Cavendish" species (Madoqua cavendishi). A
male shot here weighed only 11 Ibs., yet was a thorough-
bred little antelope at that, with annulated horns a trifle
over 3 ins. in length, and tiny hoofs on the end of long
legs no thicker than a pencil a perfect miniature.
One morning on the Enderit, coming round a bend,
I "jumped" close by a heavy, thick-set beast that, with
horns laid back flat along the withers, crashed away
through the brushwood. Not knowing what it was, I
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 35
did not fire. Elmi asserted positively that this was an
oryx ; but now (after seeing both species) I am satisfied
that it was a young eland.
A fortnight's hunting had yielded thirty-four
selected specimens, comprising eleven different species
of big game. But hitherto the
intense wildness of our most
coveted object, the Neumann's
hartebeest, had defied our utmost
efforts. Stalking on the open
prairie frequented by these ante-
lopes had proved impossible. A
carefully-organised " drive " had
failed I will not say through
the stupidity of the drivers, but
simply because savages could not
comprehend the scope of the
operation. On our last day but
one we adopted a modified scheme
of simply "moving" a herd, and
this so far succeeded that we each
secured a specimen at extreme
ranges. Both, unluckily, proved
to be females, mine being a fine
adult, carrying a head of 15f ins.,
and my brother's a smaller cow.
The latter, having only a broken
shoulder, led us a long chase, and
eventually, after receiving two
more bullets (one in the head),
entered a patch of thick wood.
Happening to be the nearest,
I followed in and finished her
with the Paradox ; but the shot was instantly echoed
by a succession of such roars as caused me to
regain the open with quite unseemly haste so, at
least, it appeared to W , who was some distance
away. On reconnoitring from a safer point, we found
that the cause of alarm was a herd of hippopotami.
HUNTING-KNIFE SHEATHED
IN SKIN FROM AN IMPALA'S
PASTERN.
36
ON SAFARI
This little wood, unknown to me, bordered a creek of
Lake Nakuru, and a score of these pachyderms had been
lying asleep within a few yards of where I had fired that
final shot.
Thus the bull of Neumann's hartebeest, for the
present, remained wanting. I had, however, secured
an immature example, and the annexed drawing shows
the earlier, upright growth in the horns of this species.
They belonged to a nearly full-grown calf (female), and
HEADS OF NEUMANN'S HARTEBEEST.
Bull, 18 ins. (shot later) ; cow, 15| ins. ; immature, lOj ins.
measured lOf ins. in length along the front curve. How
I came to kill this small beast I never quite knew.
Possibly the bullet, missing its mark, had struck another ;
more probably (the distance being great and the grass
long) the luckless youngster had been standing in front
of a larger animal, which masked the separate outline.
Anyway, it lay there dead ; and, after all, its horns
exhibit an interesting phase of growth.
That evening, close to camp, I saw another leopard.
He retreated into heavy bush overhanging the banks of
a stream a favourable place to hustle him out. I had
fifteen " boys " with me, Svvahilis, but to my surprise
not one of them would face the job, and the leopard
ENDERIT RIVER AND LAKE NAKURU 37
escaped through an irrational care for their precious
black skins. For a mob of noisy beaters there was no
danger whatever.
The nomad Masai were moving towards the lake, and
this evening (August 5) we saw in many directions the
-
GOLIATH HERON Biggest of his tribe.
smoke of grass-fires where they were burning-off the
dead herbage. We next morning walked down together
to examine the marvellous bird-life that swarms around
the shores of Lake Nakuru. Never have I seen greater
aggregations or such variety of water-fowl. These be-
longed to forms and genera all familiar, yet specifically
almost every bird was an entire stranger to me. The
38 ON SAFARI
special character that arrested attention was the immense
size of many species. There were colossal cranes, storks
and herons, perfect giants of the bird- world. There
were pelicans in droves ; these, of course, are always big.
Geese, ducks and flamingoes in thousands filled air and
w r ater. Darters (Plotus) with snake-like necks and small
cormorants perched on half-submerged trees. There
were herons and egrets in their many varieties ; ibises
of both kinds, with plovers and sandpipers, gulls great
and small, grebes, and many more. Though I have
been an ornithologist all my life, I hardly dare further
attempt to describe or define those exotic multitudes.
The assemblage, however, certainly included the Goliath
heron, tall and grey, standing bolt upright as a Guards-
man ; another conspicuous monster being the huge
jabiru or saddle-bill, with its heavy, up-tilted, murderous
beak, red, with a broad black band in centre, both of
which birds I have endeavoured to portray. Besides
these, there are entered in my notebook though with
due doubtfulness, both on this and other occasions around
Nakuru's shore the whale-billed stork (Balceniceps)
and the great wattled crane (G'rus carunculata] , a
species I had met with in South Africa ; but neither
bird has yet been proved to occur here in Equatoria.
Two flamingoes that I killed with the rifle were of
the European species (Phcenicopterus roseus), but we
saw others that were red all over (Ph. minor],
Many hippo lay in the shallows off-shore ; one, an
immense bull with pink cheeks and neck, showed
splendid curved ivory as he opened a cavernous mouth
to yawn. He offered a good target, and W put in
a bullet that told well. The hippo disappeared, and we
saw him no more, though we waited all day (watching
the birds also) and sent down "boys" next morning.
Neither of us fired at hippo again.
That evening we marched into Nakuru and encamped
alongside the railway. There is a Dak bungalow at the
station, and, without being Sybarites, we enjoyed an
excellent dinner and a bottle of Pontet Canet a grateful
change from the rough fare of the veld.
AFRICAN JABIRU, OR SADDLE-BILL.
CHAPTER IV
A LION-DRIVE ON LAKE NAKURU
LIONS were not specially included in our programme
or our ambitions when we first landed in British East
Africa ; for much time expended in vain and many
uncomfortable hours endured during my previous expe-
dition (in South Africa) in the effort to bag a lion had
driven home the conclusion that to secure the king of
beasts was beyond my powers. But dis aliter visum.
Lions, it may here be remarked, are still sufficiently
numerous in British East Africa, especially in those
regions where antelopes, zebra and other game so
greatly abound, such as the Athi Plains and parts of
the great Rift Valley. During our three months'
sojourn in East Africa in 1904 we had several camps
at which we heard lions calling almost every night, yet
never, that year, did we personally see one alive, except
on the single occasion which I here propose to relate. In
South Africa I enjoyed one glimpse of a lion, and the
rough sketch made in my note-book of that sight,
which, cursory as it was, must always remaiu a notable
memory, is here translated by Mr. Caldwell.
It is, perhaps, needless to remark that lions do not
roar when hunting at night. It would be a very foolish
beast that did so. Their note at night is better de-
scribed as a call a sort of deep, crescendo, resonant
cough and one hears a second, often a third, cough,
each further away than the other, showing that the beasts
are hunting in concert in a wide wing, and thus they
maintain touch with each other. When lions do roar
is on returning homewards full, towards daylight, at
40
A LION-DRIVE
41
which hour hunters are generally too fast asleep to hear
it. The only occasions when I have heard a real roar
were when waiting-out at night over a kill. On these
ventures one has to spend the long, dark hours on a
cartel, or framework, fixed up in the branches of a tree ;
and, under such conditions, is never so sound asleep but
that the magnificent reverberating roar of a lion will
speedily restore one to full consciousness.
The herdsman-prophet of Tekoa understood the
FIRST GLIMPSE OF A LION.
habits of lions in this respect thousands of years ago,
when he wrote (Amos iii. 4) : " Will a lion roar in the
forest, when he hath no prey ? will a young lion cry
out of his den, if he have taken nothing?"
Well, on August 7, 1904, we were encamped along-
side the railway at Nakuru, intending to start at dawn
next morning on the long march to Lake Baringo,
distant some seventy-five miles due north. A message,
however, was conveyed to us during the evening that
H.M.'s Commissioner (the late Sir Donald Stewart) was
expected by train during the night, and it was proposed
to organise a lion-drive on the morrow. We had with
42 ON SAFARI
us a fair- sized crowd of natives between forty and
fifty human beings, Swahili porters, askaris armed with
Sniders, hunters, tent-boys, and the usual components
of what is called a " safari," or caravan. These we
thought would make a useful troop of beaters ; but they
hardly viewed the undertaking with the same enthu-
siasm. A Swahili has his good points, but he is not a
born sportsman, nor is he any longer a true savage.
He wears clothes of sorts, drinks when he has a chance,
and can reckon up how many rupees go to a sovereign.
The true savage, such as the Masai, does none of these
things. Any reluctance to act as beaters was, however,
soon dispelled by the forceful suasion of our " headman,"
Maguiar, the huge Soudanese, whose word, backed by
the obvious power to enforce it, was law beyond debate ;
and after breakfast we set forth amidst deafening din.
The regular musical instruments indigenous to Central
Africa, such as drums and tom-toms, were supplemented
by empty biscuit-tins, gourds filled with pebbles, and
other ear-splitting devices quite calculated to alarm even
a lion.
The scene of our proposed operations, less than an
hour's walk away, was a series of forest- patches which lay
nestling along the northern shores of Lake Nakuru, a
sheet of water some fifteen miles in length. These
woods were of no great width, merely belts of a few
hundred yards across, and conveniently divided from
each other by natural opens at intervals of a mile or
two. Inland from the forest-belt was open, grassy land,
sloping upwards to low, rocky koppies, clad with what
looked like bracken and brambles. The first two beats
proved blank, nothing bigger than " grass- antelopes " or
dikdiks being seen. In the third beat I was the
penultimate gun on the left of the line, facing the lake,
the last gun being posted to command the extreme end
of that patch of forest on the lake- shore. I had selected
for this work my 12-bore Paradox and an old '450
Express, to which I was long accustomed, as being
better adapted for quick-moving shots at moderate
A LION-DRIVE 43
distance than the far-ranging cordite '303. I was lying
hidden in long grass about one hundred yards from the
covert, and the noisy line of beaters had already
approached within half-a-mile, when my Somali gun-
bearer, Elmi Hassan, who was lying beside me, pointed
into the wood, saying, " See ! two lions ! You no see ? "
I certainly did not see. For some time I could distinguish
nothing moving whatever ; but at length, as the lions
came exactly opposite my position, where the wood was
rapidly thinning out, I saw them. They were not easy
to detect, so low and stealthy was their advance, crouch-
ing along under covert of brushwood and rushes. As
the lions were completely enclosed, I would not risk the
uncertain shot they now offered ; in fact, it seemed
to me clear that, short of breaking-back, the lions had
hardly any choice but to pass out between me and my
one left-hand neighbour. They did neither. At a
point exactly on my front the two beasts lay down in
two green bushes that grew within a dozen yards of
each other beneath the last straggling trees.
Hardly had this incident occurred than we became
aware, by a chorus of discordant yells from the beaters
(some of whom we could see rushing out of the wood),
that they had come across something inside that was
not quite to their taste. Amidst the din, the word
" simba" (lion) predominated, and at once the three guns
on my right, including my brother W , dashed oft'
towards the point indicated. Having my two marked
lions in front of me, I remained quietly where I was,
and so soon as the coast was clear, beckoned to my left-
hand neighbour, told him what I had seen, and arranged
that he should advance from the left, while I went
straight in to the lions in front.
Naturally, under such circumstances one went in with
every sense on full stretch, anticipating and prepared
for any contingency ; but on drawing nearer and nearer
to those two bushes without seeing a sign of movement
within, the tension began to slacken. At twenty yards'
distance it seemed impossible that so large a beast as a
44 ON SAFARI
lion could still be lying in so small a bush without my
seeing it. They must, I thought, have slipped away
unobserved, and I was walking on almost carelessly
until within ten yards of the right-hand bush, when
Elmi suddenly seized my arm, pointing the rifle he
carried into the base of the bush, and hissed, " See ! see !
the lion ! Shoot him spring ! " Once more I must admit
that I could see nothing. Strain my eyes as I would,
I could distinguish nothing like a lion in that bush-
nothing beyond a very small patch of monotone in the
further corner. Yet Elmi was so positive, and the bush
so small and so near, that I decided, rather recklessly
and perhaps from some sense of shame that a black man
should be so superior in eyesight to fire. There was
no mistaking the response a growl more savage than
ever I had heard in my life before. I also saw, through
the thick smoke from the Paradox, the electric con-
vulsion with which the beast pulled itself together for a
spring. That movement disclosed the position of the
head and shoulder, and before there was any time for
mischief I got the second bullet well in behind the
shoulder. That knocked out any idea of fight, and the
beast, still growling but mortally sick, crawled out
beyond. I now saw it was a lioness. Elmi handed me
the '450, and a third ballet, raking forward from the
stern, stretched her among the grass. My first ball was
in the ribs amidships, the second high on shoulder.
While rushing forward to examine the beast, and in
the excitement of the moment utterly forgetting the
second lion in the other bush, now behind us, 1 was
promptly reminded by shouts and two rapidly-fired
shots in that direction. Turning round, I was just in
time to see this second beast, also a lioness, bound out, a
yellow streak, from the thick covert, growling as the first
had done. On seeing me she stopped dead, standing
with head erect among the green rushes by the lake-shore,
and looking over her shoulder towards us. I remember
seeing her white teeth as she commenced another growl
she was only twenty yards away but that movement
A LION-DRIVE
45
was her last. A Paradox ball on the shoulder dropped
her from our sight.
When this second lioness first bounced within sight
I had thrown up the Paradox for a snapshot, thinking
she was coming straight on ; but on her hesitating as
described, by an inspiration I glanced along the sights
to assure myself that the aim was correct. The gun
was then pointing a clear inch above her shoulder !
LIONESSES RIGHT AND LEFT.
(By artistic licence grouped nearer than they actually fell.)
Both animals lay quite dead within thirty yards of
each other; yet my companion, Elmi, who, while they
were yet living, had been as bold and collected as though
we had merely been engaged with antelopes, now de-
veloped a curious degree of caution. Probably he was
right and acting on experience, but he would not allow
me to approach till he had collected sundry sticks and
stones and thrown several at either carcase.
While Elmi and I were thus occupied, we had heard
several rifle-shots away on our right. It now tran-
spired that a third lioness had also been secured by the
46
ON SAFARI
guns who (as above mentioned) had gone off in that
direction. The first shot was put in by the Sub-
Commissioner, Mr. C. W. Hobley. All three lionesses
were dragged out of the covert by our " boys," and laid
in a row on the grass outside, where a scene of inde-
scribable excitement ensued, the niggers dancing and
jumping around the dead beasts to an accompaniment
of shrieks, beating of tom-toms and other fearsome
instruments, including biscuit-tins.
I measured the two lionesses with which I was
personally concerned. The first and larger of the two
SAVAGES DANCING AROUND DEAD LIONESSES.
taped 8 ft. all but an inch ; the second was a trifle
under 7 ft. All three had fed the night before on
zebra, readily distinguishable by the masses of yellow fat.
After skinning the lions, we tried two or three more
beats of similar woods along the lake-shore, but with-
out further success so far as lions were concerned. One
incident, however, is deserving of mention. My position
was in a small open surrounded by dense jungle a sort
of green-room, twenty yards square, walled-in by masses
of viewless shrubs, lianas and creepers. One could see
literally nothing beyond these narrow limits. There was
one gun outside me, by the lake, and to him I had
indicated my position. Where precisely the rest were
A LION-DRIVE
47
placed I knew not, nor could they tell where we two
were. While the beat progressed I heard some large
animal approaching, heard it arrive in the thicket
immediately on my front, and stop there. In vain I
looked around for a convenient tree to ascend, not so
much from fear of a lion as from the risk of promiscuous
bullets. Trees there were in plenty, but not one could
be climbed by reason of the pendent masses of parasitic
plants and prehensile thorny creepers with which each
trunk was clad. As the beaters came in the beast broke.
It was only a bushbuck ; no one fired. But with careless
guns there would have been more danger from stray
bullets than from the most savage beast that roams the
African forest. The evening ended in backsheesh. The
" boys " asked for twopence each. I served out thrice
that sum, and posed as a benefactor. Next morning we
started on the long march to Lake Baringo.
A curious incident deserves record. At the station at
Nakuru was posted a written notice that (presumably by
reason of some small trouble with the natives) sportsmen
were forbidden to proceed " north of the equator," which,
the notice added, " might be taken as passing over Molo
bridge." Now to me the equator had always been a sort
of abstraction not a concrete thing capable of passing
over a bridge, like a donkey or a telegraph-wire. Hence
I had mistaken the notice for some tropical joke !
Fortunately for us, being that night in the august
company of the Government, the error was discovered
in time and the necessary permit issued.
CHAPTER V
A TWELFTH ON THE EQUATOR
NAKURU TO BARINGO
i
THE four days preceding the Twelfth of August we
had been steadily marching through grassy uplands,
skirting the vast crater of Meningai. There was but little
game here in August; but, in those days, many Masai
with their flocks and herds. Eighteen months later
(February 1906) the Masai had been "removed" into
their Reserve on Laikipia, and game abounded.
This is not the regular route to Baringo, whither we
were bound, but we had selected the longer way round
in order to avoid the heavy march of twenty-three
waterless miles between Nakuru and the Molo River.
The deviation involved a lot of " path-finding," picking
up landmarks and bearings, coupled with no slight
anxiety as to whether we were really holding the right
course. We had the company on the first day of Mr.
F. R. N. Finlay, the South- African hunter, who kindly
undertook to set us our course.
The first evening we had encamped on a tiny rivulet,
name unknown ; the second on the Ungusori River. On
the eve of the Twelfth we had reached the Alabanyata,
a rapid muddy stream six yards in width and a yard
deep. At midday, hardly had we " outspanned " on its
banks, after six hours' marching under an unspeakable
sun, when shouts of " Simba " (lion) aroused us from
a hard-earned rest. Our men, scattering to collect
firewood, had come on the beast close by ; but though
we turned out at once, hunted a mile down-stream, and
then "drove" all the thickets and likely "holts" on
48
A TWELFTH ON THE EQUATOR 49
our way, nothing more was seen. The grilling we
endured in that noontide-hour's hunt ! Vertical rocks
reflected an accumulated heat in that deep gorge that
was well-nigh suffocating. Thermometers are useless.
The point reached that night we named Equator
Camp, believing that that geographical symbol passed
between our two tents. Perhaps it did certainly it
ran within a few yards.
These four days we had shot no game, and a gazelle
(granti, doe) killed this evening came as a perfect
godsend to the commissariat. Note that a certain
proportion of tinned meat should always be carried for
occasions such as these. Strict supervision, moreover,
must be exercised over the black cook, otherwise he will
recklessly use up these emergency reserves on days when
there is plenty of fresh meat at hand. In most camps
game is superabundant ; but there are long marches and
gameless stretches for which a reserve of tinned stuff,
such as "army rations," should always be provided.
To-night, the diary records, we " dined sumptuously."
The local Masai, friendly yet finely independent, had
refused to trade us a single sheep, or to hire out some of
their sturdy donkeys, that would have served us well for
transport. Their reasons are intelligible enough. The
habits of these naked savages, living solely on meat,
milk and blood, needing neither cloth, beads, wire nor
anything we could give them, left no medium of exchange.
True, they came daily into our camps for medicine and
medical advice, but that they expected for nothing
which, it is probable, was about the par value of any
such advice we could give.
We visited one of their kraals, strongly stockaded, to
inquire the way to the Molo. A score of Masai came out
to meet us, each carrying his spear. The chief, an old
man, grizzled, reserved and self-possessed, was a splendid
savage, standing some seven feet high. In reply to
our questions he knelt down, and, by patting the ground
with his hand, indicated the direction we should follow.
In August flights of Egyptian geese and pelicans are
E
50
OX SAFARI
here constantly winging their way southward no doubt
from Lakes Bariugo and Rudolph to those of Naivasha
and Nakuru. The curious " Kaffir-finch," or King
whydah-bird (Chera delamerei), with its ridiculously-
exaggerated tail, is also characteristic of this veld, as well
as the Florican, or Wato bustard (Trachelotis canicollis),
numberless larks, pipits, doves and ravens.
The distant horizon on this, as on most grassy down-
lands, was frequently ornamented by the gaunt, upright
KING WHYDAHS.
Males entirely black except the band of crimson and buff on fore-wing.
figures of ostriches feeding about, usually in pairs. On
one occasion we witnessed a struthian love-scene. So
far as one could distinguish at the distance, the cock
ostrich, running in circles in spasmodic, jerky style, with
neck dilated and extended in front, executed a sort of
wild dance. The beautiful white plumes of wings and
tail, expanded like a fan, showed up conspicuously
against his jet-black body. The scene reminded one of
the performance of an old blackcock in April, or (more
appropriate, though less accurately) of the great bustard
in Spain. The hen ostrich appeared to be busy feeding
all the time.
I also remember seeing once a triangular fight between
A TWELFTH ON THE EQUATOR 51
three cock ostriches. Despite much brave show and
widespread plumes, not one of the three would close.
The fight degenerated into a mere demonstration in
three acts defiance, charge (not carried home), flight
and this was repeated again and again.
Here, on the Alabauyata, we decided to spend our
Twelfth, and made an early start. Down the riverside
at dawn were numerous wart-hogs in troops of five to a
dozen, besides ostriches, gazelles, small antelope and
jackal. Three miles below, the Alabauyata utterly dis-
appears lost in a great green vlei, or marsh, of a league
in extent, all choked with tall flags. On the grassy fore-
shore lay a herd of large animals that, in the distance
and early sunlight, certainly looked like eland. On
approach they proved to be waterbuck (defassd), but
all apparently females, lying down. " No horn," was
Elmi's verdict ; but being confident that such a herd
would hold at least one fair male, I crept back and
presently gained another point of view. From here we
were rewarded by discovering a grand bull lying between
two groups of cows and half hidden thereby. His horns,
laid back along the withers, were also inconspicuous.
The utmost point of cover was still distant just 270
yards from the game the intervening foreshore being
bare short grass, flat as a cricket-pitch, and dotted with
enormous wild geese of the spur-winged species (P.
gambensis). Buff-backed herons also marched about
among the sing-sing, relieving the animals of parasites.
The cows and calves kept up a low chorus of bleating
cries. 1 half thought of " whistling-up " the bull, but the
obvious risk of his form being then covered by the atten-
dant cows was too great, and nothing remained but to
take the long, lying shot. A sloping ant-hill afforded a
perfect " rest." and the shot was followed by an answer-
ing thud. Hither and thither ran cows in confusion,
but beyond them lay one big prostrate form. The bullet
had struck the neck.
The horns of this bull taped 28 ins., by 8|- ins. around
the base. One was slightly splintered at the point, and
52
ON SAFARI
one ear was bitten through the result, no doubt, of the
fights that had gained him his numerous harem. Dead-
weight, as he lay, estimated at near 500 Ibs.
While off-skinning proceeded I strolled to some low
ridges beyond to survey the country. At first only
zebras and ostriches were in sight; but presently the
glasses rested on an animal that was quite new to me
a great dark-red hartebeest standing beneath a shady
mimosa a mile away. He was a lone bull, bigger, redder
and with finer horn than any of his kind hitherto seen.
This was my first view of Bubalis jacksoni. Him we
at once proceeded to stalk.
Again the range was long sighted for 300 yards ;
yet so severe was the hit that for a full half-hour we
never doubted that this also was " our meat." Slowly
he moved, with frequent halts, but on, on ... into the
low hills that closed the plain, taking ridge after ridge,
apparently recovering strength as time went on. Then,
on topping a crest, we "jumped" a second lone bull of
the same species, and by a bit of superb field- craft gained
an advantage that within twenty minutes proved fatal to
the game. This hartebeest had dashed away, circling
round the rim of a saucer-shaped depression. Elmi,
inspired, plunged into this dip, directing our four " boys "
to remain standing in full view on the ridge behind.
Presently, as anticipated, our horned friend pulled up
and stood fixedly regarding those four harmless Swahili,
53
while we, being in the hollow below his sight, were free
to continue our advance. At little over 100 yards the
tips of those thick-set back-bent horns showed up above
intervening bush, and, firing low through the foliage,
judging where the chest would be, a dull echoing response
told that another grand beast lay dead.
Jackson's hartebeest is the finest of the genus found
in East Africa, and closely related to the red hartebeest
(Bubal is caamct) of the Cape. It is probably the
northern form of one species, for in some specimens a
trace of the black facial "blaze" characteristic of B.
caama is found retained in B.jacksoni in this example
it extended from above the nostrils half-way to the base
of the horn-pedicles. Other specimens obtained later
showed no sign of this, and even the dark-red pelt is
not an invariable distinction, for one bull shot later was
quite pale in body-colour lighter, indeed, than B. cokei.
The dead-weight of this animal we estimated at full
400 Ibs., against little over 300 Ibs. in B. cokei; and
the horns taped 22 ins., by 10j ins. in basal circumference,
with a span of 1\ ins. between tips. Irides yellow.
Meanwhile, our previously- wounded bull had dis-
appeared. We made every possible effort to recover
him, following for miles and sending out scouts to watch
the vultures, but never again was he seen.
Camp was now five miles distant, the white tents
mere specks across a shimmering plain, and it was
two o'clock ere we reached them.
Numerous ostriches on this plain seemed to challenge
an attempt to stalk ; but this is an undertaking of no
small difficulty. The immense height of these giant
birds they stand about 8 ft. enables them to see
over any ordinary covert. They walk, moreover, when
feeding along, faster than one can run run, that is, all
doubled up and obstructed by strong grass and intercept-
ing creepers. My brother, nevertheless, secured here a
cock ostrich under the following circumstances. Afar
on the plain two ostriches were rolling on a bare patch
among the grass taking a dust-bath. Neither W
54
ON SAFARI
nor his gun-bearer were able to distinguish what that
i lark rolling object w r as, and had half concluded it must
be a rhino. On their arrival within 200 yards the cock
ostrich stood up, and promptly received a bullet through
his body. He provided plumes and feathers enough to
supply an average family, but, as regards meat, was a
complete fraud. There is little or nothing eatable on
OSTRICHES.
an ostrich. Needing no wing- muscles, the sternum has
not even the rudiment of a keel, nor is there any flesh
whatever on his breast, while the legs are all sinews.
As we had both during the morning "jumped"
several small antelope or dikdik of kinds unknown to
us, we took Paradox guns that evening with the idea
of forming line to walk-up these small buck, or whatever
might befall. A very hot day, however, was now suc-
ceeded by rain, and, probably owing to the grass being
wet, several small animals were seen to break away wild
before our advancing line. With a view to cut these
A TWELFTH ON THE EQUATOR 55
out, I pushed forward on the right, but only succeeded
in heading some jackals and small pig, besides seeing a
tawny-brown cat or lynx ; and, the country becoming
wooded, we got separated. Holding on alone, I presently
found myself on the same marsh where we had shot the
sing-sing that morning. Old spoor of three elephants
led along the edge of the vlei it was the first I had
seen, and I was horrified by its size ! and several
waterbuck cows still awaited their lost lord.
The hour being late, I resolved to remain awhile on
the chance of some strange animal emerging from the
great reedy fastness at sunset. The idea was vague,
but it had a concrete reward. Presently something did
appear, and the glass showed this to be a tawny-hued
antelope with strong recurved horns a new beast for
the second time this day !
At 200 yards he stood, nothing more than a yellow
head and neck showing amidst contrasting green flags.
I fired three shots with the '303 carbine, each aimed at an
unseen shoulder somewhere, I knew not precisely where,
beneath. All this time the buck stood statuesque as
it were, hypnotised. The fourth shot, directed at the
head itself, went true, striking below the eye with
instantly fatal result. Elmi carried our prize ashore
from a foot of water a lovely creature, the East-African
reedbuck (Cervicapra ivardi], quite new to me, and
the only specimen we obtained that year. 1
This is a smaller animal than the common reedbuck
(which is not found in East Africa), its live-weight
probably not exceeding 80 or 90 Ibs. ; the pelt is rougher
and more tawny than that of the larger species, and the
horns more abruptly hooked forwards. They measured
in this specimen 9 ins., by 6 ins. around the base.
This antelope has the broad, fan-like, flirting tail with
1 We have since found them quite numerously in suitable
localities, as is mentioned later in this book. The valley of the
Alabanyata, indeed down which we had just travelled without
seeing a single reedbuck abounded with these antelopes on our
next visit, eighteen months later.
56
ON SAFARI
white edge, and the bare spot beneath the ear, that are
characteristic of its genus. Irides dark.
Darkness was gathering ere we started campwards
with our burden, and we suffered a bad half-hour or
two, path-finding in the dark through heavy scrub, till
we met two askaris with lanterns, whom W had
HEAD OF EAST-AFRICAN IlEEDBUCK.
sent to pilot us in. He had shot a Grant's gazelle, and
both of us had struck fresh rhino spoor.
Thus ended our Twelfth on the equator. We had
brought in five head of as many different species, and
three of them new to us. Plenty reigned once more
we had half-a-ton of meat, on which our men fed like
wolves. Presently weird music chant and song ac-
A TWELFTH ON THE EQUATOR 57
companied by reed-pipe and rude guitar, not wanting in
its own appropriate melody startled the stillness of
the tropical night, The final pipe was enjoyed amid
wondrous serenade of nightjars and cicadas, ground-
crickets and bull-frogs, with a backing of laughing
hyenas beyond.
From Equator Camp we resumed our march north-
wards towards Baringo. One day's travel across low
rocky ridges, clad with scattered mimosas, brought us
to the Molo River at Ya-Nabanda a spot where later
on we enjoyed some memorable sport. Thence following
the river till it diverged to the west at a point known
as Maguiohni, we struck due north, three days' hard
travelling, entangled all the time in intricate passes
through rocky mountains cruel volcanic lava, hidden
boulders overgrown with wiry grass and trailers, horrid
with bush and thorn bad going for the heavily-laden
safari, especially when rhinos filled their breasts with
frequent alarm.
It was our object to explore Lake Haunington, lying
among the rocky hills to the eastward, and with that
idea we had left the track ; but the deviation, with
loaded men, proved impracticable. We struck one
corner of the lake, nestling amid forest-clad heights, all
reflected on the still surface, that recalled the scenery
of Norway. The shallows and mud-flats at the head of
the lake were brilliant with innumerable herds of rosy
flamingoes that hid the water from view.
We were the less disappointed by this failure as the
rugged volcanic hills and thorny jungle that surround
Lake Hannington did not appear at all likely ground for
eland, which we had been told frequented the shores of
that lake, and to secure which had been our object in
trying to reach it. That rocky country appeared more
suitable for koodoo than for eland.
At all these camps, being in the Masai cattle-country,
plagues of flies (like ordinary house-flies) tormented
beyond bearing. In the morning, luckily, we were
away before the demons awoke. At that hour they
58
ON SAFARI
formed a solid black mass, inches deep, along the ridge-
poles of our tents and in the angles of the roof. But at
midday there was no escape. They crawled over hands,
face and food alike ; swam in shoals in milk or coffee ;
buzzed in one's ears and down one's neck one long
buzz, buzz, buzz, bite and sting from dawn till dark.
Thence another day's travel took us on to the
Baringo Plain. In four marches we had descended from
8,000 ft. at the Ungusori camp to 3,500 ft. here ; and
SOCIAL WEAVER-FINCH, with its 100-roomed nest.
the reduced elevation was marked by corresponding
changes in the heat, the vegetation and the bird-life,
all three here assuming a tropical character. We had
descended from regions of bracken and bramble to palm
and tree-fern. Birds there were that we had never seen
before birds strange of form, of plumage and of flight ;
all then utterly unknown to me. There were gorgeous
tropical types, as sunbirds and barbets, bulbuls with
glorious flute-like note, heard both by day and last
thing at night, and weaver-finches that filled whole trees
with nests some containing eggs, others young, in
A TWELFTH ON THE EQUATOR 59
August. Bee-eaters, of vivid greens and red, flashed
in the sunlight ; but a yet more brilliant hue was
displayed by an azure kingfisher. There were quaint
hornbills, rollers and bubbling bush-cuckoos the latter
not heard since leaving Mombasa eagle-owls, buzzards
and hawks of many kinds. A conspicuous genus was
that of doves, thousands in numbers, and in every size
down to the tiny CEna capensis. Insects here became
a burden mosquitoes in particular. At our last camp,
COUCAL, OR BUSH-CUCKOO.
Known as " Water-bottle bird" at Mombasa.
by a pestilent swamp on the Molo, we were doubting
whether death itself might not be welcome when a
merciful squall blew up and dispersed them.
Another march across a torrid plain where great red
ant-hills towered up in hundreds, tall and thin, looking
at a distance like factory chimneys, and amidst which
we discovered traces of the mysterious aard-vaark,
brought us ba.ck to the Molo. There yet remained a
mountain-spur to cross, and here troops of baboons, some
looking as big as human beings, watched and barked
from the crags above. (An " old-man " baboon, by the
60
ON SAFARI
way, when actually measured, taped 5 ft. 6j ins. from
nose to outstretched hind-feet or 5 ft, 2 ins. to the tip
AARD-VAAKK
of his tail. 1 ) A pair of Bateleur eagles soared overhead.
1 Since writing the above, I find that the baboons of British
East Africa are of different species from the common dog-faced
Chacma baboon (Papio cJiacma) of South Africa. This Equatorial
form has received the title of P. ibeanus. The measurements above
given were taken from a Chacma baboon.
A TWELFTH OX THE EQUATOR
61
and we observed in this gorge birds of the rock- sparrow
kind (Petronia), as well as numberless guinea-fowl of
a new species, with a tuft of curious horny bristles set
around the gape. These were the Abyssinian helmeted
guinea-fowl (Numida ptilorkyncha), which swarmed in
the thorn} 7 " scrub, some packs apparently running to fifty
or a hundred and upwards.
Beyond that spur we at length descried the fort of
Baringo furthest outpost, in this direction, of British
Empire.
At midday on August 17 w r e encamped on the little
plain below the Boma, having spent nine days on the
march from Nakuru. Here we presently received a
most hospitable welcome from the District-Commissioner
(and sole white inhabitant), Mr. Geoffrey Archer.
NAMAQVA DOVE ((End capewis).
A pigeon no bigger than a Wagtail.
CHAPTER VI
AFTER ELEPHANT AT BARINGO
Two bull-elephants having been reported in the
neighbourhood, we rested a couple of days at Baringo
awaiting further news ; but the native trackers sent out
to locate the elephants having failed to do so, we
resumed our march northwards. On the night of
August 20 we were encamped beneath the conical mass
of Njoro-Ilimalo (or Koodoo-Kop, as .we called it, owing
to the stony mountains around being frequented by
these superb antelopes), when at 9 p.m. three " askaris,"
or native soldiers, came into camp with a letter from
Mr. Archer at Baringo, saying that an Njemusi hunter
had brought in news of a huge old solitary bull-elephant
which had taken up his quarters near Njemps, on the
further side of the lake. Archer added that, as he was
then proceeding on duty to Njemps, he would be glad
to accompany me thither, provided I returned to Baringo
at once. 1
This necessitated an entire recasting of plans, but
arrangements were soon made, and an hour before
daylight on the morrow, under a waning moon, I left
my brother to continue his solitary journey northwards
to the Mugitani Eiver, while I set out on return for
Baringo. Arriving there (four hours' march) in time for
breakfast, Archer and I at once started for Njemps,
re-crossing first the mountain-spur, and then the flat
plains towards the Molo River. This river, we were
told, was only waist-deep, so we proceeded to walk
through, sending some natives in advance to shift
1 See sketch-map at p. 75, infra.
62
AFTER ELEPHANT AT BARINGO 63
possible crocodiles. With some dismay, however, we
found, on reaching what had appeared to be the opposite
bank, that we had merely crossed a shallow by- stream,
that the apparent bank was an island, and that the
main river still ran, broad and deep, before us. There
was nothing for it but to swim, and this we proceeded
to do, again sending an advance-guard of blacks as a
precautionary measure. Our rifles and ammunition
came through all right ; but, in spite of every care, our
clothes (carried aloft in one hand) got hopelessly wet.
Even on the equator one does not care to dress in
soaking garments, and we therefore both marched into
Njemps, three miles beyond, arrayed each in a wet
shirt, a sun-helmet and a pair of boots. Here we found
the local chiefs all assembled to meet H.M.'s representa-
tive, but since no one of them wore anything at all, our
scanty attire created no scandal. Njemps is a strongly-
stockaded village, with many rows of grass-built huts
inside its rampart of growing thorns and surrounding
moat, and we encamped beneath the historic sycamores
where, less than twenty years previous, Joseph
Thomson, the first explorer of Masailand, had rested
after his adventurous journey.
Here, again, the resonant flute-like song of the bulbul
struck me as certainly the most effective bird-melody I ever
heard. Specially noticeable was it just before sundown.
That afternoon, while Archer held " shauri " with
the chiefs and collected revenue, I went to look for the
elephant under the guidance of the local hunters, and
soon found his mighty spoor of the night before. This
we followed for miles, in and out, always through
comparatively open ground and loose forest, highly
favourable for our attack had the elephant been there,
but he was not. It became evident that, although he
might come hither every night to feed, he had some
other stronghold to which he retired by day. We saw
many waterbuck in these forests, though no really good
heads, and a superb pair of white-headed fish-eagles
(Haliaetus vocifer) kept screaming and circling overhead.
64 ON SAFARI
Both the woods of Njemps and the marshes of the
Molo that adjoined them swarmed with strange birds
and unknown water-fowl. Gladly would I have spent
more time in investigating these, but the major quest
forbade. There were squawking bronze -green parrots
I took these to be parrots an elusive cuckoo with ruddy
breast that betrayed his genus by a muffled note, but
avoided all save a fugitive glance. There were wood-
peckers great and small some no bigger than creepers ;
BARBET.
Colours gold, lemon and crimson, black and white.
barbets thick-set, " dumpy " birds, in coloration akin to
the last, though so different in habit ; bush-shrikes and
babblers; tiny warbler-like "white-eyes" (Zosterops),
cousins of the sun-birds ; colies in little parties, and
glossy starlings (Lamprocolius), the latter nesting in
hollow trees as starlings do at home. In the marshes
we noticed various herons and egrets, spur-wing plovers,
common and other sandpipers, kingfishers azure and
pied, rails and chestnut-red jacanas.
Next morning our scouts were away before dawn,
but I was glad to be told that an early start was not
necessary, since, having tramped over thirty miles the
previous day, I wanted an " easy." At ten o'clock a
little wizened savage (the same who had brought the
first news to Baringo) came in and reported he had
actually seen the elephant at dawn, that he was an
AFTER ELEPHANT AT BARINGO
65
enormous old tusker with heavy ivory, and that he
had marked him into his resting-place for the day.
Enthusiasm rose to fever pitch, and in five minutes we
were off, Archer, having now completed his "shauris"
(palaver) with the Njemusi chiefs, being able to
accompany me. I was glad of this, for I was totally
unequipped as regards weapons for such heavy and
dangerous game, my most powerful rifle being a double
303. That the '303 is quite capable of killing the
African elephant I am well aware ; Mr. F. C. Selous has
A MOUSE-GREY COLY (Colitis) AT NJEMPS.
proved that, and for many years my late friend Arthur
Neumann " used no other." But these are exceptionally
practised hunters, of lifelong experience, and in choosing
this small bore they relied also upon choosing their
shots. It is a very different matter for an amateur for
the first (and perhaps the only) time in his life to
withstand the onset of an enraged elephant with so tiny
ft tool. 1 speak from knowledge, for I did it, and owe
it merely (under Providence) to a flaw in a fickle,
shifty wind that I am here to write the experience.
Archer, however, had a single '400, a far more powerful
weapon.
66 ON SAFARI
After proceeding some miles in a northerly direction,
I began to perceive a change in the character of the
country, forest and scrub giving place to " elephant-
grass." Grass ? Well, when stuff grows to a height of
ten or twelve feet in masses so solid and strong that one
cannot force a way through it, such plants should have
another name than that of the humble greenery of a
lawn. For a time I did not realise the full import of
the change, but imagined that these giant clumps
through which we were seeking a path were merely a
casual local phenomenon, and that we should presently
get past them. I soon was undeceived. This was
"elephant-grass"; it extended for untold leagues,
encircling the southern shores of Lake Baringo, and it
was right in the midst of such a fastness that our friend
the elephant had selected his stronghold. This grass-
forest, full ten feet in height, with tasselled flowering
tops towering above that, was absolutely impenetrable
to human-kind, save only by following the old tracks of
elephant or buffalo, and these in places w r ere almost
obliterated. One's progress, moreover, was constantly
intercepted by broken-down thorn-trees. How they got
there 1 could not surmise, but one had to climb over or
squeeze under them, and not a yard could one see in
any direction, save only a narrow crevice of sky above,
with the broiling sun right overhead. Naturally the
naked, agile savages got through this awful stuff far
quicker than we could follow ; yet it was absolutely
necessary to keep in touch with them or be lost.
At length the elephant was reported to be within
sight, and by climbing a dead tree (infested by biting
ants) I indistinctly descried portions of a vast grey
bulk beneath some flat- topped thorns, distant 400
yards. Even that last short space gave trouble,
for in the depths of that grass-forest we suddenly
came on the river Tigerish, a deep, muddy stream,
with perpendicular banks like a canal. This, though
barely ten yards broad, we had to swim. In the over-
hanging bushes colonies of weaver-finches had nests, some
AFTER ELEPHANT AT BARINGO
67
of which contained eggs resembling those of our sparrow,
but speckled with a violet tinge ; in others the young
were hatched.
The next view of our elephant was from a thorn-
tree at seventy yards. He stood quiescent, his enormous
ears flapping to keep off the flies. Omitting details of
detours necessitated or suggested by varying airs, at
last I found myself watching this giant beast (from a
tree) within thirty yards. Only the ridge of his back
and huge ears were visible above the tall grass, all in
deep shade, and I was debating within myself what was
AVEAVER-FINCHES NESTS.
the right course to pursue, enjoying the novel sight and
trying to recollect all that the great elephant-hunters
had advised. Already Archer, very rightly, had raised a
question of the wisdom of " taking on " a solitary old bull
under such conditions ; but I only reflected on the forty
miles we had come, the rivers swum, the game in view,
and had not realised the full import of his remark nor the
danger of this venture. The perception was not long de-
layed. A distinct and continued puff of wind on the back
of my neck brought it home. One moment later that ere-
whiles somnolent elephant was all alert. Up in air full
twenty feet towered the great trunk, its point deflected
hither and thither to pick up those grains of scent in the
68 ON SAFARI
traitor breeze. The next moment he was gone as by
magic, vanishing from sight as silently as a rabbit. I
feared he had gone for ever, but instinctively climbed
down a branch or two, remaining in a position whence
I could still see over the grass, yet could jump to the
ground at once.
What really passed through the elephant's mind
during the succeeding moments I would clearly like to
know. If at first (as certainly seemed to me) he had,
for a second, resorted to precipitate flight, that plan was
almost instantly rejected, for immediately thereafter the
crashing of the jungle told us he was coming, and then
the great square forehead appeared, towering above the
jungle, as he rushed directly upon us. I had jumped
down from the tree ; Archer was five yards to my left,
with the elephant almost straight above him, when the
charge stopped. We presumed the great beast had lost
the wind. What now confronted us, some ten yards
away, resembled the hoary grey tower of a village
church. Under a midday, equatorial sun (almost
vertical) there is no shade to define angles and thus
indicate the vital spots, nor was there any time to
consider. I placed my tiny '303 bullet on the temple as
near as I could judge at the point given in the " rules,"
i.e. " half-way between eye and orifice of ear " (though
I could neither see eye nor orifice, and the ear was as
big as a barn-door). Archer, being directly in front,
tried the forehead shot, aiming at base of trunk. These
stunning blows at least turned him -off us, for the
elephant swerved to the left and disappeared. In a
way, this was a relief, but it was also disappointing.
Hardly, however, had I got the empty cartridge
replaced than the beast was on us again. This time he
crashed across us from left to right; luckily he had
(very slightly) misjudged his point, and thus passed us
a few paces in front of our actual positions. We each
put our bullets into the side of his head, almost at the
muzzle of our rifles, Archer his single '400 ball, and I
my two '303's, followed up by two " solids" from the
NEARLY CAUGHT.
AFTER ELEPHANT AT BARINGO 69
'450 (an old black-powder rifle) before losing sight. I
had thus placed one ball in the left, four in the right
side of his head, Archer one in the latter part and one
in the forehead seven in all. No effect whatever was
produced, so far as we saw. But our men, who now
climbed into trees, at once reported that the beast was
going very sick, and, a minute later, that he had
stopped altogether. This we soon verified for ourselves,
seeing him at a standstill among the long grass some
300 yards distant.
What should we do now ? Never again, after this
experience, would I follow him up in that fearful
grass, where he has one as in a trap, for a man cannot
move a yard to right or left, whereas an elephant goes
through it as if walking in a meadow. We decided on
a policy of " masterly inactivity," leaving the wounded
elephant to die quietly (as we hoped) where he stood,
our scouts being posted in trees to watch him, while we
proceeded to have our lunch.
Presently our elephant slowly moved into some very
heavy thorn-jungle beyond. How he crossed the deep
donga of the Tigerish River (which we had to swim
a second time) we could not see. Here we had a bit of
bad luck. Probably our trackers pressed on too fast ;
anyway the beast retreated on his heel-tracks, and we
lost an hour before recovering the spoor behind us.
He now left the grass-forest and entered a stretch of
thick, low thorn-scrub, most laborious and painful to
traverse. The day was far spent, and of intense heat
and hard going I had had enough, and returned to camp
at four o'clock. Archer followed on, first into the
swampy ground adjoining Lake Baringo, thence wheel-
ing to the left as the spoor turned due west, as if the
wounded beast meant to seek refuge in the Kamasea
Mountains, which closed the horizon some six miles
away. In that case we knew he was lost to us. Next
day, however, the tracks showed that he had not dared
to face the mountains, but had held to the south some
twenty miles down the valley, where he had entered a
70 ON SAFARI
huge morass, a league in diameter, choked with reeds
and flags, and with water three to four feet deep-
possibly far more and swarming with leeches. To
explore this Archer sent men back to the lake to carry
canoes hither, twenty miles, and we offered a reward of
two cows for the recovery of the ivory.
There ends, so far as our knowledge goes, the story
of our elephant. It seemed certain that the sick beast
would die wherever he took final refuge, and this con-
viction was confirmed by a letter sent me a few days
later : " The latest news of your elephant is that he was
seen, very sick, making for Magi-Moto or the swamp
beyond. The natives are still on his spoor, so I trust
you will have the satisfaction of receiving the ivory on
your return here." Yet no monster tusks were ever
sent in to the fort at Baringo. Whether the Njemusi
really failed to find the beast, or whether they recovered
him and said nothing, we could not be certain. But,
sad to tell, these primitive savages are already beginning
to understand differences in value, and to distinguish
between a pair of tusks worth, perhaps, 80 to =100
sterling, and a couple of cows only worth as many
rupees.
The sensation of failure, after the prolonged excite-
ment, risk and labour was sickening enough ; twice we
had been within less than ten yards of one of the grand-
est beasts in all Africa, and had failed to secure him ;
yet we could not but feel thankful that we had come
out of it unharmed. Both those terrible charges had
been full of mischief and malice, and we had only
escaped, in either case, through a mere lucky flaw or
slant in the wind. My impression was that the danger
is more real with elephant (and, in minor degree, with
rhino) than with lion. For the big carnivora in-
variably give one the first chance, and that ought, in
their case, with modern weapons and short range, to be
decisive ; whereas this elephant charged at once, with
full intent to kill, before we had molested him in the
smallest degree, beyond getting in his wind. Moreover,
71
though he had just received two cordite-driven bullets
in his head, he instantly, within fifteen seconds, repeated
his charge a second time, and after all, with some seven
balls in his head, travelled upwards of twenty miles
almost without stopping.
Subsequently Archer wrote me that, a fortnight
later, during his absence on duty, an immense bull-
elephant, carrying tusks of 90-lbs. apiece, had come
down to the water at Magi-Moto and had died there !
It was not, of course, proved that this was our elephant,
though the probability amounted to no less than a
moral certainty. Unluckily, owing to Archer's absence,
the ivory disappeared, falling into the hands of some
Swahili traders.
The foregoing serves incidentally to show how easy
it is for an elephant or for a herd of elephants,
enormous as is their bulk to exist unseen ; as easy as
for a rabbit at home, so dense and far-spreading is the
tropical jungle ! Another illustration of this fell within
my own knowledge. Two Englishmen had gone snipe-
shooting on a marsh bordered by comparatively narrow
belts of heavy reed. For some hours they had been
shooting away merrily, when from these reeds hard by
there emerged a whole herd of elephants quietly moving
off in search of a less noisy siesta.
A point that struck me during our sojourn at
Njemps was the inveterate laziness of the native
savages. Each morning, shortly after dawn, groups of
them assembled at certain spots, each man bringing
a " cracket," or low three-legged stool, whereon he
squatted, his spear stuck in the ground within arm's-
length ; there they sat the livelong day, neither talking,
working nor even, apparently, thinking simply idling
away the hours and the days. Those groups which
squatted thus around our tents might perhaps be
presumed to be in consultation with H.M.'s representa-
tive ; but all over the village sat other groups similarly
" employed." The Njemusi are stated to be a degenerate
offshoot of the Masai " degenerate " because they affect
72 ON SAFARI
agriculture, work with which the noble Masai never
demeans himself. Here, outside the stockades, there
>"/,s a patch of cultivation whereon I observed a few
women and boys working in listless fashion. The out-
ward and visible sign of "work" consisted in their
having rude hoes and spades ; but two-thirds of the
labourers lay sleeping in the sun. Here amidst African
wilds one does find in real life that race which Socialist
tub-thumpers, with customary inexactitude, delight in
denouncing at home as the "idle rich."
CHAPTER VII
BEYOND BARINGO
(l) AFTER ORYX AND ELAND
Now that Baringo is becoming a favourite resort of
big-game hunters, it is interesting to recall that but a
score of years ago the region was unknown. The first
/ o
white explorer to reach its shores was Joseph Thomson,
who, writing in 1885, thus described it: "The mys-
terious lake of Baringo, though long heard of, has been
a delightful bone of contention between geographers at
home, who have drawn it in various phases with the
large and liberal hand characteristic of those who are
guided by their inner consciousness and a theoretic eye.
[Sometimes it was comparable to the Nyanza in size ; at
other times it had no existence. Then it knocked
around the map a bit, being now tacked on to Victoria
Xyanza, anon separated therefrom, or only connected
by a thin watery line. After all this shuttlecock work,
Lake Baringo proves to be an isolated basin, sunnily
smiling up at its great parents, the shaggy, overhanging
ranges of Kamasea and Laikipia. In extreme length the
lake is eighteen miles, and in breadth ten miles." l
Bariiigo has now acquired not only a fixed position
in geography, but even a niche in history. A British
station was first established on the Bibo Hills to the
north of the lake ; and this led to bloody fighting. Two-
thirds of the native garrison, having been treacherously
decoyed away, were surrounded and speared to a man
by overwhelming swarms of the Jabtulail and Turkana
1 Through Masailand, p. 533.
73
74 ON SAFARI
tribes. These, flushed with victory, dashed on the
British post ; but its solitary white occupant, Mr. Hyde
Baker, aided by a handful of Nubian askaris, held the
savages at bay for five days, till assistance arrived.
Such incidents merely the grinding of the mill of
progress are, I presume, printed in Blue-books, but
seldom reach the average British reader.
Baringo now enjoys the reputation of being one of
the most favoured regions in the British Protectorate in
respect of its big game. There remains, nevertheless,
room for disappointment. For so extensive, and as yet
so little understood, are the migratory movements of
the antelope- tribe, as also of giraffe, rhino and other
game-animals, that a district which swarms with them
one month may be found deserted the next. The
materials at present available are too scanty either to
determine the extent and dates of these migrations, or
to correlate them with seasonal or other causes. It is
one object of these chapters to contribute thereto such
gleams of light as were furnished by our experiences at
Baringo and elsewhere in East Africa.
Shortly before leaving England, I had received a
letter from Major C. S. Cumberland, who was then at
Baringo, that he was disappointed with that district.
He wrote as follows : " Baringo, March 29 [1904].
This is supposed to be a good game-country, but I have
seen very little, and what there is, having been much
hunted, is very wild. It will give you an idea of what
this country is like this year to say that I have not
halted in any one of my camps for more than one day.
In my opinion the beasts have shifted owing to the
drought."
Under the impression that if March were unfavour-
able, August might prove to be the reverse, we reached
Baringo in the latter month. On arrival, Mr. Archer
told us that five or six weeks earlier, at the end of the
rains, game had been extremely abundant a few marches
to the northward. Thus an entry in his diary on July
11 mentions seeing during the morning, while riding
AFTER ORYX AND ELAND BARINGO 75
southwards towards the Mugitani River, two herds of
50 and 80 oryx respectively, 11 giraffes and 2 elands;
SKETCH-MAP OF BARIXGO.
while the same evening he rode within sight of some
300 elands, 100 oryx, 32 giraffes and 3 rhino, besides
76 ON SAFARI
the ordinary game. Our own experiences, five weeks
later, were as follows.
To begin with, I fell in with one of those unpleasant
adventures that are incidental to African travel. As
related in the last chapter, I had left my brother to
continue his march northwards towards the Mugitani
River while 1 made a back-cast of thirty miles to Njemps
after elephant. Returning thence, on the evening of the
fourth day I had reached the neighbourhood of the spot
where, by arrangement, I expected to find W-
encamped, when one of those violent thunderstorms
characteristic of the equator suddenly burst. Being
unable, in elemental cataclysm, amidst roaring winds,
thunder and hissing rain, either to find the river or to
get response to our signal- shots, I .ordered camp to be
pitched exactly where I stood. Then a new difficulty
arose. The heavily-laden safari, struggling against the
storm, had got separated and half lost among the bush,
the confusion being accentuated by running into a herd of
half- wild Suk cattle, the longest-horned and most trucu-
lent beasts I ever saw. One by one, or in scattered
groups, the safari straggled in, but, of course, the " boy "
with the tent-poles was last to arrive. Thus it was two
hours after dark ere I got shelter under canvas, and turned
in supperless bar a tin of sardines and a pint of
" emergency " champagne !
The storm moderating at midnight, we got in touch
with my brother's camp, which proved to be little more
than an hour's march away ; and in the morning, to our
mutual relief, W walked across in time for breakfast.
The Mugitani at this point, as we discovered by daylight,
is little more than a series of mud-holes connected by
subterranean channels. No wonder we had failed to
find it in the darkness and stress of the night before.
My brother reported having seen a herd of eland
and some oryx, but the latter were scarce and very wild.
The only game he had killed were impala, Grant's
gazelle (the local race, G. g. brighti), a kori bustard,
and a zebra for meat. But a notable occurrence had
AFTER ORYX AND ELAND BARINGO 77
befallen. He had come across a gigantic pig which
dwarfed the big wart-hogs (animals we saw daily) into
comparative insignificance. We had neither of us at
that time heard of the existence of the giant forest-
hog (Hylochcerus) recently discovered in these regions,
and described, from some fragments of skin and bone,
in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 1904,
KORI BUSTARD.
Male : weight 251bs., span 8 ft., has head like a bittern.
p. 193, though I now remembered having hastily glanced
through these a night or two before sailing. Whether the
animal seen here was Hylochcerus, or otherwise, remains
unproven ; but the following is my brother's narrative
" It was on the Mugitani River that I had my first
sight of elands. Leaving camp at daybreak, we had
traversed the scattered forest that covers the bush-
tangled, boulder-strewn hills above that river, and come
upon a level plain, a mile across, stretching to the foot-
hills of Laikipia beyond. Upon this plain was a herd of
78 ON SAFARI
elands about fifty strong, mostly females and young
beasts, but including a single large bull whose brisket
appeared to sweep the ground. They had not noticed
us, and their onward direction indicated that they would
feed past quite near. What slight wind there was blew
in our favour, so we lay down in the deep grass and
waited. Presently the whole herd filed past from left to
right within easy shot. The big bull was, as usual, last
of all, and came on very slowly, often stopping. Whether
some breath of suspicion were aroused or not, it is
impossible to say ; but it certainly did happen that
before the great bull had arrived opposite our position,
first one small beast, then another, quietly dropped
astern of the herd and so surrounded his majesty that
there remained absolutely no point of his person on which
we could get a sight. His massive stubby horns and
the line of his back were the only indications of his
being there at all. We could do nothing to avert a
catastrophe, so lay still, and the elands passed out of
the picture in the same slow, dignified order in which
they had appeared. They simply faded away within the
fastnesses of the Laikipia, and our efforts all that day
failed to bring us again within touch of them.
" Next morning, skirting this plain towards the north,
we first spotted a bull giraffe, very black, but as he was
travelling faster than we could follow, we took no further
interest in him. We then entered a glade which
traversed the forest, and were approaching its outlet,
when my eye caught something moving in the open
beyond. Immediately thereafter the glade was occupied
by the form of a pig, which for a moment of time stood
gazing towards us long enough for me to see that this
was something quite out of the common in the pig line.
Reddish-brown as to colour, with head shaped like that
of a bush-pig, its dimensions were what arrested atten-
tion. Whether by some optical delusion or not I could not
say, but this pig certainly appeared to me to stand well-
nigh as big as a zebra, say near four feet at the shoulder.
It was gone in a moment. We rushed forward to get
AFTER ORYX AND ELAND BARINGO 79
another view ; but though one other fairly big one and
three or four small bright-red pigs dashed across the
glade, we never again set eyes on the first monster.
"At that time I had heard nothing of Hylochoerus,
the unknown species that is said to inhabit the forests of
Mau and Laikipia, the first intimation of the existence of
such a creature only reaching me when my brother
rejoined camp a few days later. The natives assert that
these huge pigs are not seen beyond the mountain
forests. Possibly the prevailing lack of water which
proved our main difficulty in exploring this region
explained their being driven to lower ground in search
thereof."
The drawing of a forest-hog overleaf has been
prepared by Mr. Caldwell from a female specimen
recently received from the Mau Plateau at the British
Museum. Features that strike one are the unusual
size of the nasal disc ; the splayed-out, warthog-like
tusks ; the open tear-duct ; and the curious tufts of
white hairs on the upper-lip. The body is covered
with long black bristles, but the ears are not tufted as
in the bush-pigs.
On the following morning I enjoyed my first sight
of an oryx, a lone bull moving along the lower slopes ;
but though 1 followed him for hours, far into the stony
hills, never got within half-a-mile. In case the fact
may possess scientific interest, I should record meeting
with a hedgehog during this stalk. I would not have
noticed it among long grass had it not loudly resented
my proximity. In size it resembled our British species,
and its spines were of a uniform brown. Well I knew
that my duty to zoology involved taking that beast
along ; but, in the midst of a laborious stalk, it was
impossible to carry that spiky specimen. Cactus and
barbed thorn are torment enough, without having a
hedgehog in one's pocket. The bushy prairies here-
abouts swarmed with a species of short-eared owl, very
dark in colour, probably Asio capensis ; from a patch
80
ON SAFARI
of heath-like scrub, a couple of acres in extent, I put up
over twenty. Quails also abounded ; walking along the
GIANT FOREST-HOG (Hylochcmis meinertzhayeni}.
A female from the Mau Plateau.
rushy glades, half-a-dozen would spring at every step.
These were Coturnix delegorguii, the harlequin quail,
also the Kurrichaine button-quail. Francolins (Franco-
linus granti) and guinea-fowl of the helmeted Abyssinian
AFTER ORYX AND ELAND BARINGO 81
species (Numida ptilorhyncha) were as numerous as
grouse on a Northumbrian moor.
Our main objective here was to secure the oryx and
the eland. The latter, it is true, may be found at less
inaccessible points ; but nowhere in East Africa can the
stately, straight-horned Oryx beisa be found within
100 miles of the railwaj 7 . Its main home is in Somali-
land and Abyssinia, and rarely does it range southward
of Baringo. We had done that long march expressly to
secure a pair of oryx apiece that being the limit allowed
by law. Yet the total number of oryx on the Mugitani
at this date (August) was certainly under a dozen. A
single giraffe lingered there, while of elands I personally
saw none.
We therefore held on to the Tangulwee, a day's
march northwards. This river, which forms the bound-
ary of the Sugota Game-reserve (in other words, all
beyond it is ''sanctuary"), has, for the equator, a fair-
sized bed, yet was stone-dry. We were therefore com-
pelled to fall back on another stream, a tiny trickling
burn, hardly recognisable save by the croaking of frogs,
that issues from the Laikipia Range, and was called, we
understood, the Masai a most unlikely name, as we
were now in the Suk country, far beyond Masailand. 1
It, however, provided our prime necessary water ; and
from its banks, though game was far from abundant, we
enjoyed many memorable days. We were, at this point,
the northernmost white men in the British Protectorate,
excepting Arthur Neumann, who was still many marches
to the northward away in the unknown by Lake
Rudolph, too far distant for an afternoon call.
On reaching camp that evening, our men told us
that while on the march they had seen a lion in the act
of stalking some zebras feeding near the edge of the
bush.
1 For the beautiful photos in the Suk and Turkana countries
here reproduced, my readers and I are indebted to Mr. G. F. Archer,
who, as District-Commissioner, controls those wild regions beyond
Baringo.
82
ON SAFAKI
We encamped under a grove of huge umbrella-
topped acacias that, at a little distance, remind one of
Scotch firs at home.
.;,... i
GIRAFFE BULL AT BARINGO.
The country around our camp was thin forest of
thorn and juniper, opening out into low loose mimosa-
scrub, easy to traverse ; and beyond this, towards the
lake, stretched leagues of level grassy plain. It was upon
this last that we now got really in touch with Oryx
AFTER ORYX AND ELAND BARINGO 83
beisa. There were not many only nine or ten; and
on the open prairie the task of approach appeared well-
nigh hopeless.
For days our best efforts failed. Then (on August
27) I had the luck to find a pair, bull and cow, well
within the fringe of mimosa-scrub aforesaid. After a
stalk of about average difficulty I fired at the bull, but
missed. This shot was taken through the horizontal
branches of a thin thorn-bush, and as it was not much
w
Trf=~
W>
"BEYOND THE LOW ALOES" (ORYX).
over 100 yards, the ball had perhaps been deflected.
Not having seen us, the oryx, after one long burst,
gradually settled down, and an hour later I came up
with them again. They now stood on a perfectly open
flat of hard, bare, sun-baked mud. Islanded in the
midst of this was one patch of spiky aloes, twenty yards
wide and three feet high. Getting this in line, I essayed
that terrible crawl, 200 yards of cruel going, over brazen
clay studded with flints and dwarf cacti, as bad as
broken bottles. Yet the stalk succeeded. I have always
attributed that success to a remarkable instance of mis-
taken animal-instinct. Far out on the flat were grazing
84 ON SAFAKI
(presumably on flints) a group of Grant's gazelles
(Gazella granti brighti to give them their correct
title). These, perceiving us, and perhaps mistaking our
khaki-clad forms, prone on the earth, for crouching
lions, advanced to mob their deadly enemy as small
birds mob a hawk. Their short, petulant " wuff, wuff,"
attracted my attention, and, looking round through eyes
near blinded with perspiration, I saw a score of these
graceful antelopes within fifty yards, angrily barking
and stamping their slender feet. This demonstration was
being carried out in full view of our oryx, and I have
no doubt monopolised their rapt attention during the
fateful minutes while we gained the shelter of the
aloes.
Thence, aiming between intervals of the spiky aloe
tops, I fired the shot that gave me my first oryx. It
was the female that fell, with a bullet high on the
shoulder. The bull bounced off, but shortly pulled up,
awaiting his consort. The distance was still under
200 yards, and I might at once have secured my pair
without further trouble, but for the freak of my gun-
bearer, Elmi Hassan. He, being a Somali and good
Mohammedan, must needs get his knife into any animal
before it was actually dead. Consequently, with all eyes
on " meat " and the still struggling cow, but none for
the grand bull standing beyond, he was already racing
in, thus ruining my chance of a second shot. It was
not the first time he had offended thus, but I put the
matter in such clear terms that it was the last. This
oryx (female) carried horns of 31 ins. in length, span
11 ins. between tips.
As the bull continued to hover about on the horizon,
I followed on ; but after two hours' pursuit he suddenly
changed his mind and went off at speed, disappearing in
the distance. During all this time the herd of gazelles
had kept in close attendance on the larger animal, and
as they now remained alone I directed my attention to
them. This was, perhaps, rather unhandsome conduct,
seeing the assistance they had rendered me in securing
AFTER ORYX AND ELAND BARINGO 85
my oryx ; but the herd contained several handsome
heads, and, moreover, I was then under a totally false
impression that all gazelles north of Baringo were
G. petersi a new species to me and not G. granti
at all. I had been so assured, and, under that belief,
proceeded to pick out, one after another, the four finest
heads in the herd. These gazelles apparently realised
no danger in the report of a rifle, for they merely con-
tinued their stately walk, their splendid horns nodding
in unison with each step, while by creeping in the long
grass parallel with their file I secured the four best
bucks within a space of 200 yards. These four heads
taped 23^, 2 If, 20 and 20 ins. respectively, span of
the biggest lOf ins., and are as good as any to be
seen in the Baringo country.
NOTE ON GRANT'S GAZELLE
Grant's gazelle, it is now recognised, is divisible into several
distinct local races, varying both in the form of horn and also
in distribution of colour, particularly on the rump-patch and in
the depth or absence of dark lateral bands. The typical form,
Gazetta granti typica, as secured by us on the Athi Plains, at
Elmenteita and elsewhere, carried horns up to 25 ins. in length,
with an extreme span between tips of 16 ins. Such are average
specimens. Further south, on the Seringeti and Rhombo Plains
towards Kilimanjaro, much larger examples are recorded, measuring
28 to 30 ins., and even more. These are all typical G. granti.
On the western boundary of German East Africa, a race exists
which (while the horns do not reach 25 ins. in length) displays
quite an extravagant divergence, the span between tips spreading
out to 27 and 28 ins. a breadth which obviously alters the whole
type and appearance of the head, as shown in the annexed plate
(p. 87). This latter race has been entitled G. g. roberfsi.
The Baringo gazelles above mentioned are G. g. brigkli ; while
on the Laikipia Plateau to the eastward yet another form is recog-
nised, distinguishable from the typical race not only by its smaller
size and shorter, narrower horns, but by a deeper body-colour and
more conspicuous lateral bands. These Laikipia gazelles have been
separated as G. g. notata. All those we shot, of either race, possessed
the curious tuft of bushy hair below the fore-knees.
Peters' gazelle (G. peter si} is quite a different animal, much
smaller (intermediate in size between Grant's and Thomson's
gazelles), and is not met with inland, being confined to the coast.
86 ON SAFARI
region. This species can always be distinguished by the fact that
the fawn colour of the back continues down to the tail, and is not
interrupted by the white of the rump-patch, as is the case in all
forms of Grant's gazelle.
The horns of Peters' gazelle average from 20 to 22 ins. in
length, and are narrow, almost parallel, the usual span being only
6 to 9 ins. between tips, as shown opposite.
The growth of the horns in immature examples of G. g. brighti
so closely resembles in form the horns of adult G. petersi (as will be
seen in the drawing on p. 87), that it is hardly surprising if we were
mistaken in identifying these species at Baringo.
Next morning three giraffes were visible from the
look-out koppie near our camp, but these great animals
possessed no attraction for us, and as a single bull oryx
was feeding with two zebras in another direction, I made
for these. Oryx, however, proved intensely watchful
and wild, and defied every effort both of my brother
and myself on that and many another day.
August 30 proved my red-letter day. I began with
a fairly good impala buck (24|- ins.) close to camp, and
then, after expending a lot of wasted energy in stalking
a zebra, that both Elmi and I, in the early light, had
mistaken for an eland, we espied a lone oryx bull afar
on the open prairie. Beyond him was a second.
Stalking, strictly speaking, was impossible ; we merely
crouched forward, stooping low, and with Elmi's arm
around my shoulder. While thus progressing, the two
bulls, having closed in, began to fight. I heard their
horns crash together repeatedly, but had not much
opportunity, while racing ahead, to observe closely their
mode of attack. They certainly did not lower their
heads to the ground, as they are reported to do in
receiving the charge of a lion (and as represented at
South Kensington). One such blow, well driven home,
must mean death. They rather sparred with their rapier-
like horns, each seeking to gain the other's flank. While
the oryx were thus engrossed I got in, and at 400 yards
(estimated) fired both barrels, each aimed with the
utmost care, yet without the slightest effect or any
apparent notice being taken. The beasts continued
D
HORNS OF GAZELLES.
A, A, A. Grant's Gazelle Three males, typical race.
A. 9 . ,, Female ,,
B. ,, Male of variety O. g. robcrtsi.
C, C. ,, Two young males, Baringo race.
D, D, D 9 . Peters' Gazelle Two males and a female.
E, E 9 . Thomson's Gazelle Male and female.
88
ON SAFARI
fighting. Presently the bigger bull got an advantage,
and the other fled. The fighting and the pursuit
together had taken us some miles from our original
position ; we were now close under the foothills of
Laikipia. Here at last the champion halted, the van-
quished half-a-mile beyond, we double that distance
astern. The victor had pulled up just beyond a little
"Hardly had we left camp in the dawn than a lovely apparition showed up on
the sky-line ahead. " (Got him in the neck : horns 24 J ins. )
string of gazelles that were feeding across the plain. I
felt that if only those gazelles would stand I would get
my shot. They did stand, and, firing over their heads
at 300 yards, I realised the fierce joy of seeing that
noble oryx bull drop stone-dead on the plain. The
ball had struck the orifice of the ear, entering the brain
not a shot to boast of, as the shoulder had been my
mark ; yet withal no more magnificent trophy had ever
fallen to my lot, nor a keener ambition been satisfied.
AFTER ORYX AND ELAND BARINGO 89
Of the many splendid forms that Nature has designed
for African antelopes, none surpass that of the oryx.
Strength and grace combine in every line. A massive
chest and upright neck, deep, yet tapering to the tjiroat,
are completed by a beautifully-proportioned barrel and
strong though slightly sloping quarters. It is in this
latter respect that the hartebeest group fall away, the
exaggerated slope giving them one is loth to apply a
disparaging epithet to such fine game almost an un-
ORYX.
gainly appearance. Of the former type none but the
superb sable really compares on equal terms with the
oryx, and the roan comes second to this pair. The
waterbuck, it is true, idealises massive elegance, but his
type is different. His are rather the four-square lines
of a red deer on a grander scale.
My prize carried horns of 31^ ins., with a basal
circumference of just under 7 ins. His hide was scarred
with wounds from a score of fights, and from the skin
of his neck, which was near 2 ins. thick (thus differing
from that of the cow, which was quite thin-skinned), I
cut an imbedded bullet of some previous hunter. The
weight of this oryx bull we estimated at 450 Ibs., the
female about 400 Ibs. Returning towards camp and
90
ON SAFARI
a three-hours' tramp in the midday heat possessed no
terrors that morning a nightjar rose at my feet from
its two eggs, lying on bare ground. This was the small
African species (I believe Caprimulgus donaldsoni]
whose loud " hoo, hoo," awakens the echoes throughout
the livelong night.
CHAPTER VIII
(ll) TWO RHINOS
THAT same afternoon when I had secured my oryx
bull, after the usual midday rest in camp we went out
separately in search of Gazella petersi, being still under
the false impression that that species was the gazelle of
Baringo. While I was busy " glassing " a small herd,
Elmi suddenly turned on me, and I knew by the fire in
his eye what was coming. " I see rhino," he said.
The huge beast was standing about 400 yards away
in a grassy glade a sort of broad grass street bor-
dered on either side by a line of low thorn-bush. I
was unprepared, having only five " solid " cartridges
with me ; but, as it was too late to send back to camp
for more, I decided to take on the rhino at once. On
reaching the grass street the rhino had disappeared. I
therefore proceeded along the windward side of the open,
keeping close under the lee of the low thorns, amidst
which I expected to find him. It was, nevertheless, a
bit of a shock when I found we had walked within
twenty yards before seeing him. He was standing
facing us, up a sort of side street, or narrow opening in
the scrub. Being almost under the rhino's nose, I
dropped in the grass, Elmi behind me. The latter, as
we lay still, presently remarked (and the words were not
reassuring), " Shoot, he's coming ! " The expression for
a moment conveyed the idea of a charge ; but I could
see for myself that there was no such danger, as the
beast clearly had not seen us, although so near. What
Elmi meant was that the rhino was moving our way.
91
92 ON SAFARI
Though not blind, yet rhino use their eyesight but
little. All I could distinguish among grass and thorn
was an amorphous mass, of a red-brown colour (from
wallowing in red mud), with a spiky horn like a smoke-
stack at the hither end. No possible shot was presented,
and the beast was slowly approaching, feeding on mimosa
boughs. We therefore crept away through the grass,
and, gaining the cover of the thorns, soon reached the
broadside position. Even then, though within less than
twenty yards, and full broadside on, I was reluctant to
fire, for in the bad light (the prelude to a coming
thunderstorm) and the shade of the bush, I could not
quite distinguish the vital spots. Presently the rhino
raised his huge head to pull down a mimosa branch
(akin to eating a mouthful of barbed wire), and the
whole outline was fully exposed. I placed a '303 solid
at the point selected one foot behind the ear and slightly
below while Elmi, by my direction, put another, from
the carbine '303, between eye and ear. The rhino
merely moved two steps forward, turned deliberately
round and stood still, with his other broadside exposed.
We repeated our salute as before, Elmi this time taking
the neck shot, while I tried a point below the ear and
slightly forward thereof. The effect this time was
unmistakable. The great beast dropped straight to
earth, disappearing from view. For some seconds I
thought the deed was done, and greatly rejoiced thereat.
The joy was premature, for once more that vast red-
brown bulk rose above the thorns, and slowly, deliberately
walked away.
Only a single cartridge now remained. I followed
the rhino, walking some thirty yards behind him,
awaiting a chance. Presently he left the bush, and,
with head carried low and a dead-sick gait, entered the
open grass street. This time I decided to try the heart,
presuming that a rhino carries such an appendage
(which I now doubt), or, at any rate, the shoulder.
The distance, ere I had perfected a thrice-refined aim,
was near eighty yards, and I heard the bullet tell.
Arrli-r, Photo.
TUKKANA.
The wild nomad inhabitants of the region towards Lake Rudolph.
Archer, Photo.
KEIUO 1UVER IIUXNIXG TOWARDS LAKE RUDOLPH.
TWO RHINOS 93
The effect was remarkable. This hitherto apathetic
beast, which had so far treated cordite with sluggish
indifference, suddenly awoke to life and amazing
activity. With a succession of hissing snorts resound-
ing like jets of steam driving through a safety-valve he
reared on end, spun round again and again, and finally,
still shrieking and rearing, bolted back to the covert he
had just quitted. He left a track like a runaway
wagon, which we followed ; but it was now dusk and
raining in torrents, with lightning and thunder crackling
straight overhead. Nothing more could be done that
night. It was a rough job to regain camp.
At break of day I took up the spoor with fifteen
boys, following it for hours through thin scrub and
thick. The latter seemed to me highly dangerous
work, our radius of vision being limited to a few yards.
On open ground the rain had obliterated all tracks, and
I divided my force into three parties, two circling on
the flanks, to cut the spoor ahead when we lost it
ourselves ; but noon arrived without our overhauling
the stricken rhino. The midday heat was more than I
could withstand, so I returned to camp, directing the
trackers to hold the spoor till night. After sundown
they too returned empty-handed. Not a sign of the
beast had been seen, though we had followed on for
eight or ten miles. Either I or the '303 had failed.
After this double disappointment, first with elephant
and now with rhino, I decided never again to take on
these huge pachyderms with a small bore.
It was at this spot that is, on the first plateau of
Laikipia that, a year before, a terrible accident had
befallen an English sportsman, Mr. B. Eastwood of
Nairobi, whom I afterwards had the pleasure of meeting,
and who kindly allows me to reproduce his description
of the event as follows
" On Sunday, the 19th of October, I was under way
before six, and made straight for the big hill (Njoro-
Ilimalo), nine or ten miles away, where I had seen the
koodoo tracks. I had gone some distance up the valley,
94 ON SAFARI
shooting a steinbuck on the way, when I saw two rhinos
a mile away. The country was fairly open, and before
I got up they had disappeared in some dry scrub.
There was, just inside this scrub, what I took to be a
low hillock, and which I purposed using for stalking.
But to this my gun-bearer, Sulimani, objected most
strongly. He said it was not a hillock, but rhinoceroses.
We crouched behind a little bush and waited, but not
for long. Hardly were we down before the group opened,
and I saw there were seven rhinos in a cluster. 1 Two
came rushing in my direction, and at forty yards I fired
and dropped one, finding afterwards that the bullet had
splintered its nose, and I now have the huge splinter of
bone, 1 8 ins. long, with the horns mounted on it.
" Leaving Sulimani to skin the beast, I went, with
one porter, after^an oryx that I could see considerably
more than a mile away, but could not get anywhere
near it. I followed it nearly five miles, passing on the
way another rhino, that I marked in case I lost the
oryx.
" On the way back I passed an immense herd of
eland, fully one hundred, and then returned to the rhino.
It was 120 yards away, with its back towards me. I sat
down in grass eighteen inches high and waited. After
ten minutes the rhino turned round and walked slowly
towards me, grazing. The man I had with me became
frightened, and after creeping for some distance through
the grass, jumped to his feet and ran. This aroused the
beast, for it lifted its head and looked after the man,
giving me the chance I wanted. I ^put a solid bullet in
the centre of its chest, about twelve inches up ; it took
two or three short quick steps and went down heavily,
head-first, its body slewing round as it fell. * It made one
futile effort to rise, but did not succeed in even lifting
its head, and then lay motionless. I put in a second
shot to make sure, but might as well have fired at a
rock, as it did not move in any way. There seemed to
1 As related in a subsequent chapter, the author on one occasion
came across a " hillock " of six rhinos in a cluster.
TWO EHINOS 95
be not the slightest breath of life left in it ; so I walked
up, wondering what its horns measured, and how I could
get it skinned and reach camp before dark.
" All these conjectures were rudely knocked on the
head. When less than twenty yards away the huge beast
gave a roll and got on to its feet. My rifle was up at
once, and I put a bullet into the shoulder ; but before
I could get in a second shot the brute was charging
straight.
" I commenced to run at a right angle to its course,
thinking the rhino would probably go on in a straight
line, as they usually do ; but the first step I took I
tripped and fell, and before I could regain my feet it
was on top of me.
" I was nearly on my feet when it struck me. It hit
me first with its nose, dropped with both knees on me,
then, drawing back for the blow, threw me clean over
its back, the horn entering the back of my left thigh,
and I saw the animal well underneath me as I was
flying through the air. It threw me a second time, but
I cannot recollect that throw clearly : and then came on
a third time. I was lying on my right side when the
great black snout was pushed against me. Then I
found myself upon my feet how, I do not know and
staggered off. As I went an inky darkness came upon
me. After going perhaps forty or fifty yards, expecting
every moment to be charged again, I felt that I might
as well lie down and let the beast finish its work without
further trouble ; so I lay down." 1
The spot where the catastrophe occurred was fifteen
miles from his camp, and that camp a twelve-hours' march
beyond Baringo. The nearest doctor was distant 136
miles at Fort Ternan. There, on the desert veld, a
shattered wreck, with right arm smashed, ribs stove in
and broken, and many minor injuries, lay Eastwood
all alone, and exposed hour after hour to the fierce
equatorial sun and with ghoulish vultures flapping close
overhead. Not till late in the afternoon did his men
1 Globe Trotter, March 1907.
96 ON SAFAKI
find him, and it was near midnight ere they could carry
him into camp. By indomitable pluck he reached
Baringo, carried in a litter, on the second morning ; but
it was not till the eighth day after the accident that the
doctor arrived and the necessary operations could be
performed. Poor Eastwood lost his right arm, but
otherwise bears no trace of his terrible experience.
Another rhino incident. Mr. Long-Innes, whom I
met close by Baringo, had just had this curious adven-
ture. While passing Lake Hanniugton on his way up,
he suddenly saw the beast lying asleep beneath a dwarf
mimosa, and only a few yards from the track. The
rhino sprang to its feet in a blind charge. The Kikuyu
gun-bearer with the rifle having promptly taken to his
heels, Innes had no resource but to bolt the other way,
but pitched his white Panama hat behind him as a blind.
The rhino momentarily halted at this bait, but, seeing
the flying Kikuyu beyond, transferred attention to him',
and speedily overtaking him, " chucked " the luckless
".boy" over his back, then continuing his course.
Curiously, the Kikuyu was not seriously damaged. The
blunt horn of the rhino had caught him under the
chin a blow that would surely have broken a white
man's neck, but in the savage it merely produced
" contusions " !
CHAPTER IX
BEYOND BARINGO
(ill) ORYX, ELAND, IMPALA, JACKSON'S HARTEBEEST,
DIKDIK, ETC.
HITHERTO we had not seen more than fifteen or
twenty oryx in the whole district, but on the day after
securing the second of my pair (the limit allowed by the
game-laws) I fell in with a herd of no less than fifty of
these stately antelopes. These presented a magnificent
spectacle, their glancing horns resembling a forest of
fixed bayonets as they moved in from the north-west in
a long file, doubtless an arrival on migration. They
were accompanied by zebras and gazelles, while several
jackals hung on their flanks.
It still remained for my brother to secure his pair of
oryx, and a day or two later he succeeded in that object,
getting two bulls out of this newly-arrived herd, the
best carrying an exceptionally fine head of 34 ins.,
besides bringing in a young male oryx as large as a goat,
which he and the men had captured in the grass. At
daybreak, when setting out, he had also bagged a big
spotted hyena close to camp. The native boys kept
shouting, " Simba, simba " (lion, lion) ; so that after
making a good shot, running, at over 100 yards, W
was disappointed to find he had killed only a hyena.
While W was busy with his oryx, I devoted myself
to impala, which here carry splendid heads ; specimens
of 28 ins. are not uncommon, but one I met with
appeared to exceed that dimension. Of course it is
always the biggest that escape, and that was the case
97 H
98 ON SAFARI
with my record impala. 1 Still, the incident possessed
a moral which may be worth relating. I had "jumped"
this animal in open forest, and crippled him so severely
with a straightaway stern- shot that I walked up within
twenty yards of where he stood disabled, with head
down and hind-legs straddled apart. My gun-bearer
kept urging, " Shoot, shoot," but I thought it unneces-
sary, till the buck staggered a few yards into some
thicker scrub, when I fired carelessly with the single
carbine and missed. Even then the sick beast stood
gazing towards us within thirty yards. I covered his
shoulder with the double '303, but that rifle was on
" safety " (note, that the carbine has no safety), and
before I could remedy that bungle, the impala, with a
loud cough, disappeared over a ridge.. I never saw him
again, though I stuck to his spoor all that day and the
next, and kept men watching the vultures till we left
that camp. Such is the vitality of African antelopes.
The moral is, never spare a cartridge while game remains
on its legs. While busy puzzling out spoor that night,
hearing. the same "cough," or sneeze, I approached the
spot and got another impala with fine, strong head, but
he appeared a bagatelle by comparison. I have seen
hundreds of impala, both in South and East Africa, but
never a head like the one my folly threw away that day.
We had now secured one out of the two main objects
of our trip to Baringo a pair of oryx apiece. But in the
<other we had been disappointed. Not a single eland
had I personally seen, for certain, in all the beautiful
park-like plains of Baringo, where, only a few weeks
before, these magnificent antelopes had abounded. This
we knew from Mr. Archer, at Baringo Fort, and his
assurance was amply corroborated by old spoor. But
1 From experience, I deduce this result that the apparent
magnitude of. a head seen in the field is disproportionately affected
by the span of horns as distinguished from their length. Thus, for
example, of two impala, each, say, 25 ins., the one with broad head
of 20 ins. span will appear double the size of the other which only
.spans 1 2 ins. or less.
ORYX, ELAND, IMPALA, ETC. 99
the elands were no longer there, nor did we see a single
buffalo, while of giraffe only five or six laggards re-
mained behind. We saw but two more rhinos, one of
which, though quite unmolested, made a determined
charge on my hunter, Elmi, who, being unprepared and
only a few yards from the beast, had a narrow escape.
The main bodies of all these animals had temporarily
retired, probably from lack of water, and presumably
northwards, beyond the Tangulwee River (now dry),
into the sanctuary of the Sugota Reserve.
August 26. From midday till dusk a storm of
locusts, passing northwards, darkened the sky and
covered our camp. Next day, never a locust in sight,
but the huge marabous sat gape-full on the trees
actually unable to close their beaks !
I do not know if hartebeests are ever common at
Baringo, 1 but this family of antelopes is so numerous and
so characteristic of British East- African plains that their
absence here was remarkable, the few we saw being all
Bubalis jacksoni. Members of another group were,
however, extremely abundant here, namely, the dikdiks,
or grass-antelopes. These small animals, some species
of which are no bigger than a hare, lie close in long grass
or low bush, and bound away from underfoot in a series
of leaps that defy a rifle-ball, even were it convenient to
fire one. But on days when we went out expressly with
a shot-gun, not a dikdik could we see. One afternoon,
while lying half-asleep under a mimosa, resting during
the midday heat, I was awakened by a curious whistle
close by, and cautiously looking up, observed a small
horned animal intently watching me, and secured it with
No. 6 shot from the Paradox, which luckily lay within
arm's length. This proved to be Madoqua guentheri,
a thoroughbred little antelope, though its tiny annulated
horns only measured 2| ins. in length, and the best we
have since shot barely exceeded 2^ ins. The nose is
remarkably prolonged and prehensile, extending quite
1 The Mugitani River practically marks the northern limit of
Jackson's hartebeest in the Rift Valley.
100 ON SAFARI
an inch beyond the lower lip. I was fortunate in secur-
ing a female a day or two later. The male weighed
7 Ibs. An even commoner species than this (though
I had not an opportunity of shooting one) is of a slaty-
grey colour with a white patch on the neck, and this
I cannot identify. These were seen in rather thicker
bush, and were sometimes remarkably tame.
The configuration of the Baringo Plains, from the
summit of Laikipia down to the lake, is a series of giant
steps, best illustrated in the following rough diagram
DIAGRAM SHOWING CONFIGURAIION OF THE BARINGO PLAINS.
One morning when shifting camp from A to B, a low
koppie on the horizon had been indicated by our Wando-
robo guide as the site of the next camp. This land-
mark, however, as we discovered during the march, was
not a koppie at all, but a mountain-peak of the Kamasea
Range fifty miles away, beyond the lake. Meanwhile the
misled safari at one point, my brother and self at two
others, all separate, had descended the abrupt escarp-
ment beyond B, and it was on this lower level, a region
of far denser bush, that I noticed these unknown dik-
diks at the point marked (7, as well as some superb
waterbuck. Having only two gun-bearers with me, and
knowing that we were already lost and confronted with
the risk of being once more "benighted" (being, besides,
again overtaken by a thunderstorm and torrential rains),
I did not care to burden ourselves with game. Thus a
possible chance of securing a new species was lost ; for
before finally reaching camp, after hours of anxiety, we
had to reasceud the escarpment, and never again visited
the lower level. Of course one's impression of an animal
Arclter, Photo. SOURCES OF THE SUGOTA RIVER.
Hot springs whence issues that strange chalybeate stream that flows down the
Northern Rift through burning-hot, lava-strewn country to within 20 miles of
Lake Rudolph.
[(Note the Storks and Ibises.)
ORYX, ELAND, IMPALA, ETC. 101
merely seen in bush, however near, may be quite erro-
neous ; still, I cannot identify this white-collared, slate-
blue dikdik with any of the descriptions or figures given
in the Book of Antelopes. 1 It is at least certain that
two species are found on these Baringo Plains.
The Wandorobo guide just mentioned was rather
interesting. He had been lent to us by Archer, and
when he came to our camp was stark naked, possessing
nothing beyond a spear and a wire anklet. We gave
him a blanket ; but he never entered a tent, preferring
to coil himself up, dog-like, under some bush imme-
diately behind our tents. He kept apart from the
Swahili, and if they despised the wild savage, certainly
the sentiment was mutual. He made his own fire,
cooking scraps of meat and the bones he collected from
the different messes, from which he made marrow-soup.
But he was distinctly acquisitive. Beginning with an
empty biscuit-tin, in which he stored rice and bits of
biltong, he gradually accumulated property. On our
return to Baringo he carried quite a big roll of " Ameri-
kani" (cotton canvas) containing we knew not what,
but clearly full of something. Here, in Equatorial Africa,
one realises that " property " may truly be synonymous
with robbery !
As a guide he proved a failure, partly owing to his
dread of bushy ground, wherein he ever suspected
rhino; but he displayed a marvellous instinct for leading
us to water in most unlikely spots.
We were now in the Suk country, and occasionally
able to obtain milk, etc., from these friendly savages in
1 The following gives in tabular form the approximate distribu-
tion of East-African dikdiks, and may be useful to sportsmen
shooting in that country
SPECIES. LOCALITY.
Giinther's dikdik, Madoqua guentheri . Baringo.
Unknown (?)_
Cavendish's ,, ,, cavendishi . Elmenteita, Enderit, etc.
Hinde's ,, Idndei . . Simba, Makindu, etc.
Kirk's ,, Neotragus kirki . . Coast region only.
102 ON SAFARI
exchange for coloured beads and iron wire. Still, one is
always in the main dependent on one's own stores, and
the following entry in the diary shows the straits we
had reached at this date : " Milk has given out, and
coffee also ; soups did so weeks ago. There is only one
candle left, and one tin of biscuits nothing else. We
now live on venison and rice, drink raw tea, and go to
bed in the dark."
Early in September we left the hospitable boma of
Baringo, that outlying frontier-post of Empire where a
single Britisher, by means of a wattle-and-daub house,
a few mud huts, seventy native soldiers, and some coils
of barbed wire, maintains control and moral supremacy
over swarming savage tribes. Marching southward, on
the third evening we encamped on the Molo River,
beneath the broadest-spreading mimosa I ever saw.
The spot, I believe, is called Ya-Nabanda. Here we
intended to halt a couple of days to secure a few more
specimens of the large Jackson's hartebeest. I had
succeeded in shooting two bulls, carrying heads of 22
and 20J ins. respectively, and on the second evening
W brought in even a finer head of 22^ ins., yet
withal he was strangely dispirited and despondent.
On comparing experiences, it turned out that a
curious coincidence had befallen. We had both that
day at last fallen in with eland, animals we had already
abandoned hope of seeing. In my own case it was a
single eland in company with zebras and small harte-
beests. Even at the distant view I saw at once by the
square-built stern and heavily-tufted tail, swishing at
the flies on its flanks, that this was a new animal to me.
On a nearer approach I recognised it as an eland cow,
carrying long but poor horns. I crept within 100 yards
of the group, and thoroughly enjoyed the scene. But a
cow eland was not available game, and I shot a water-
buck bull instead.
Meanwhile, to the east of the river W had fallen
in with a herd of no less than fifty elands, but only
including one big heavy bull. This splendid beast he
SUK WARRIORS IX THE FORT AT BAUINGO.
IN THE SUK COUNTRY.
Donkey-transport cut off by river coming down in flood.
OEYX, ELAND, IMPALA, ETC. 103
had wounded, but had unluckily been unable to come
up with it ere darkness set in. We therefore decided
to remain at this camp till we had secured our one bull
eland apiece, that being the limit allowed by law. A
grievous disappointment awaited us next morning. We
had both at this period been suffering from the severe
work entailed by the constant crawling after oryx,
hartebeest, etc., over the hard, flinty ground. Cuts and
abrasions, skinned knees and scarified forearms are the
normal condition of the white-skinned hunter in Africa,
but to-day (September 8) my brother was totally disabled
from walking, one knee being swollen to the size of a
pumpkin. Accordingly, I had to start alone, W
shouting after me in the darkness to get him a bull
also, should a double chance occur. Nothing seemed less
probable, since after tramping more than two months
I had never, up to then, set eyes on a bull eland
at all.
Ere the sun was well up I had reached some rocky
hills we called Leopard's-Kop (owing to my having
missed one of these animals here in our northward
march a month previously), and which were not far
from \vhere my brother had seen the elands the night
before. Here we were watching a concentration of
vultures, in the hope that they might lead us to his
wounded bull, when Elmi espied three elands afar.
Presently the vultures drifted beyond view, and we
then turned attention to the fresh game. The elands
were feeding in open forest of a kind of dwarf oak,
which still carried the tawny leaves of the previous
summer, distant two miles, and dead to leeward. This
necessitated a long detour an hour's heavy grind ere
we gained the \veather-gauge. Then some easy stalking
brought me within shot ; but so thick and rank was the
bush and grass, and so fatally did its sere hues and the
hanging foliage tone with the elands' tawny pelts, that
I failed to make them out before they moved. I now
saw that the trio included one magnificent old bull, a
massive beast of blue-grey hue. The exact character of
104 ON SAFAKI
the other two I could not distinguish. A second stalk
(in very much more open country) also, failed, and this
time the game, I feared, had seen something, for they
went off at speed, and we utterly lost both sight and
touch of them. Hours of hard work and constant spy-
ing elapsed before at length we once more descried our
three friends again far away to leeward. Another
long detour followed ; but luck this time favoured us.
In the first place, the elands were now feeding in forest
where broad grassy opens intervened amidst the timber ;
secondly, after completing our final approach. \ve found
the three feeding towards us across one of the said
opens. Moreover, in the long interval that had occurred
they had forgotten their suspicions, and grazed towards
us in absolute security. First came a big old cow with
very long horns ; then a grand bull in his prime ; lastly,
the glorious old patriarch aforesaid bringing up the rear.
I was greatly struck by his iron-grey pelt and massive
proportions, the heavy pendent dewlaps sweeping the
herbage. The trio passed our front within 120 yards,
but the shot I made was none too brilliant, though it
could not have been more successful. Touching the
spine behind the shoulder (a foot too far back), it
dropped the big bull on the spot, yet left sufficient
vitality to enable him to recover his fore-legs and remain
standing so as a dog sits on his haunches, and as shown
in the plate opposite. The other two ran at the report
of the rifle ; but presently, looking back and seeing their
leader still apparently on his legs, they stood awaiting
him to rejoin. The distance was not much over 200
yards, giving me a good shot at the second bull. He
also was struck too high, but fatally, and hardly moved
100 yards. Both these splendid animals, in fact, stood
disabled close by, and within full view.
Sending Elmi to finish the second bull, I walked up
to the first, which, unable to move, watched my advance
with mild, reproachful eyes, tempering the savage joy
of success. He was a veritable patriarch, his front
adorned with a mat of dark curly hair, shading off into
ORYX, ELAND, IMPALA, ETC. 105
chestnut laterally, and set off by a white patch at either
tear-duct. Though almost bare of hair, the huge blue-
grey body still showed the yellow vertical stripes,
though indistinctly. The horns were worn down with
age, and compared badly with those of the younger
bull, which taped 26 ins. straight. The latter animal
was of a bright fawn-colour, with yellow stripes. He
lacked the matted forehead and pendent dewlap, but
carried a heavy tuft of hair below the neck, which had
been almost worn off in the older bull.
Estimated weights in the field are necessarily un-
certain, but this younger bull eland appeared to my
eye about equal in bulk and weight to a big Norwegian
bull-elk. The latter animal I have actually ascertained
to scale 1,260 Ibs. clean. Should this comparison be
correct, the patriarch, with his vastly bulkier frame, and
carrying far more fat, may have represented hard by a
ton dead- weight as he lay.
The stalking both of eland and Jackson's hartebeest
had been true stalking, by which I mean that the game
had not seen or suspected the presence of a hunter till
receiving the bullet. The approach to oryx, Coke's
and Neumann's hartebeest, wildebeest, Grant's gazelle,
zebra and other denizens of perfectly open plains is
hardly stalking in the strict sense. It is rather out-
manoeuvring ; but our tongue is defective in distinctive
terms in veiiery. Bush-stalking, as already mentioned,
is yet another art.
After off-skinning the two eland bulls we were four
hours' march from camp, and, curiously, on our way
thither I saw four more elands. Ten days later I found
these antelopes in some numbers near Lake Elmenteita,
where there had been none two months before. Clearly
at this date (September) elands were moving into both
these districts. I should add that all I saw were com-
paratively young animals ; never again, that year, did I
see one of those heavy old patriarchs such as that whose
head now adorns my walls.
Besides the game mentioned, we also met with the
106
ON SAFARI
following from this camp on the Molo River : Waterbuck,
duiker and steinbuck, a few of each ; ostriches numerous,
as were also the big "paau" or kori bustard, while the
thorn -jungle to the west of the river held bush-pig.
EAST-AFRICAN BUSH-PIGS.
Following are dimensions of a big bush-pig boar :
Length, snout to tip of tail, 5 ft. 4 ins., of which the
tail measured 13 ins. ; height at shoulder, 30 ins. ; weight
as killed, 270 Ibs. The East-African bush-pig can be
distinguished from wart-hog half-a-mile away by their
white " mane " of heavy pendent hair. Twice I saw
ORYX, ELAND, IMPALA, ETC. 107
a hunting-dog, a single beast on each occasion. Grant's
gazelle plentiful, but of Thomson's we met with only
two or three. This is the limit of their northward
range, which is practically bounded by the equator.
None exist beyond Baringo. 1
At this point we fell in with two natives, Wandorobo,
hunting by means of a donkey. They had fitted the
animal with a pair of wooden horns, and by crouching
behind, guiding him with a cord to his nose, approached
near enough, we were told, to kill hartebeests and even
such large game as elands with their poisoned arrows.
Their bows were primitive, and appeared very feeble.
They used them horizontally, held along the line of the
donkey's back.
A curious incident befell while shooting from this
camp. I was stalking a little group of four Jackson's
hartebeests. Previous to starting on the stalk my
brother and I had noticed a single zebra standing fast
asleep on a grassy decline beyond. My first shot broke
the shoulder of the best bull, but before getting quite
beyond range the other three pulled up to gaze, a good
bull mounting an ant-heap. I tried the second barrel at
him, distance some 300 to 350 yards, and distinctly
heard the bullet tell. What was my surprise to see, on
jumping to my feet, that that bullet had struck, not the
hartebeest aimed at, but the unfortunate zebra 100
yards beyond, whose very existence I had forgotten,
and which was actually out of my sight at the moment
of firing. He must have been trotting away down the
slope when the errant ball struck just by the root of his
tail. The zebra was still struggling in extremis as we
rushed by in pursuit of the lamed hartebeest, but it was
hours before we recovered the latter, and on our return
the zebra was dead. Our men, in consequence, refused
to eat the meat, not having been bled, which would
1 The correctness of this was subsequently confirmed by our
experience on Lake Solai, further east and on the same line of
latitude. We saw but one Thomson's gazelle during our sojourn on
Solai, though they are plentiful a dozen miles southward.
108 ON SAFARI
thus have been wasted but for the hyenas, jackals,
vultures and marabous. Forty-eight hours afterwards
I repassed the spot, and not a trace, not even a bone,
remained, only a circle of down- trodden grass and a few
huge feathers. This zebra was an aged stallion, almost
toothless, and much clawed by lions a fine specimen ;
but I was annoyed at killing him here, as I meant
securing my two specimens close alongside the railway,
whereas I was now compelled to carry the heavy skin
and head some fifty miles.
September 9. Our young oryx died, despite all we
could do. Fresh milk was what it wanted, and this the
Masai refused to sell. Yet they came daily into our camp
for medicines, the chief wanting his child's chest and his
wife's leg cured, and so on. We explained, with some
little force, the principles of reciprocity, and they then
sent in milk when too late. However, we gave them
Bowe's liniment, Alcock's plasters, fruit-salt, etc., and
W- - doctored them all round. Results unknown.
The last march from the Molo River to the railway
at Nakuru is twenty-three miles across waterless veld.
This long grind we avoided by carrying water from the
little Rangai River, which enabled us to camp for the
night midway. By placing leafy boughs in each bucket
of water the Swahili porters managed to carry them a
dozen miles without spilling a drop, and this in addition
to their regular burdens.
The following day we marched into Nakuru, through
a region of very coarse, sour grass, where we saw little
or no game. We had been away thirty-four days on
this Baringo trip, and had secured forty-four selected
heads of large game, including twelve different species,
besides ostrich and kori bustard. Even these figures,
imposing as they seem, do not fully represent the faunal
wealth of the country, for (as related) some others defied
our efforts. There were, moreover, several species of
which I had previously shot specimens in South Africa
such as bushbuck, duiker, steinbuck, etc., and which I
did not again molest. And a short month's time
ORYX, ELAND, IMPALA, ETC.
109
forbids that all the magnificent array of wild-life one
sees here should each receive its proper share of
attention.
At Nakuru we received a sack of mails the first
home-news for eighty days.
PURPLE-CROWNED COUCAL (Centropus monochus).
A reclusive bird, oftener heard than seen.
CHAPTER X
A SKETCH OF CAMP-LIFE IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA
THE amenities of camp-life vary with the latitude.
Africa, the home of tent-dwellers, affords the ideal ;
Northern lands, too often, the reverse. Compare the
rigours of life under canvas in subarctic regions
especially at high altitudes, as on the reindeer fjelds of
Norway, or even in the low-lying forests of Sweden or
Newfoundland. There each hunter is accompanied by
but a single Achates, whose functions combine both those
of gun-bearer by day, of cook and attendant by night.
As darkness falls, one returns to an empty camp ; fires
must be lit though rain descends in sheets and dinner
t <j
cooked ere the day's work is complete. Comfort, or the
semblance thereof, is rarely expected, still more rarely
found. " I doubled the Horn before the mast," writes
my brother, " and . that was no bed of roses in the old
days of wind-jammers ; but it was no whit more
unendurable than a fortnight's real bad weather under
canvas on the high fjeld."
In Africa, on the other hand, tent -life is a normal
condition, and the system and custom of camping in
the open have been brought to the level of an art.
Discomfort and trouble are, or ought to be, unknown.
Before one's arrival in Africa the whole safari has
already been collected, trained men organised to take
the field these being mostly Swahilis. That word
" safari," by the way, is quite untranslatable. It has
no British equivalent, though in daily use on British
territory, the usual rendering of " caravan " being equally
110
IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA 111
inaccurate and inadequate. A safari comprises a
mobilised expedition organised and equipped to take the
field and to travel in any direction, whether for purposes
of sport, trading or otherwise. Its component parts
include : (1) the native porters, who carry the tents,
camp- and cooking-gear, stores, commissariat, and, in
short, the whole outfit ; but whose main burden, after
all, is the rice for their own consumption. These men
carry 60 Ibs. apiece on their heads, and their numbers
necessarily depend upon the extent and duration of the
expedition. Thirty or forty porters suffice for such
purposes as ours. Next come (2) the askaris, or native
police, each armed with a Snider rifle for protection of
the camp by night and day. Their duties involve the
night-watch, maintaining fires, etc., but no burden-bear-
ing. Thirdly, come the cook and cook's mates, a " tent-
boy," or personal servant for each sportsman these
being usually " mission -boys " who have acquired some
slight smattering of English and syces for ponies, if
ponies are used. Lastly, though of first importance,
comes the Neapara, or headman, who directs the whole
crowd, and upon whose capacity to lead depends largely
the comfort, if not the success, of the expedition.
There remain to be enumerated the hunters, each
with his attendant gun-bearers. Somalis are usually
employed, and, if of the right sort, are by far the best
shikaris; but the "hunter" question is big, and can
only be mentioned here incidentally.
Enough, however, of such detail. The purpose of
this chapter is to sketch in outline the hunter's daily
life when encamped on the open veld. Assuming that
he has reached his hunting-ground, the point I would
place first, as the most essential to enjoyment, if not
also to success, is this Breakfast by candlelight, and
be a mile away from camp when day breaks. In Africa
there is no hardship in this. When lights are out by
nine o'clock, not even a sluggard can complain, after
eight hours in the blankets, of turning out at five !
112 ON SAFARI
A cup of black coffee in bed at the hour named,
with breakfast twenty minutes later, enables this
essential to be fulfilled.
The whole joy and glory of the tropical day are
confined to its earlier hours. That is the time when
the world of the wilderness is amove, when its beauties
and infinite variety of forms can be seen and appreci-
ated to the best advantage. Later, when the whole
landscape is drenched in a brazen sun-glare that bites
like the breath of a furnace, but little, by comparison,
will be seen, and exertion becomes well-nigh impossible.
WHITE-BROWED coucAL, OR BUSH-CUCKOO (Centropus supercilwsus).
Crown of head and tail dark ; upper parts chestnut.
From the darkness without, as one sips that early
coffee, there resound the bubbling notes of bush-cuckoo
and nightjar ; the last wail of the laughing hyena,
possibly the roar of a distant lion, precede the dawn.
Following these, but ere yet a sign of light is apparent,
a chorus of infinite doves awakes the day " Chuck-her-
up, chuck-her-up," in endless iteration. " Chock-taw,
chock-taw," responds another species. Then the
whistling call-notes of fraucolins and the harsher cackle
of guinea-fowl resound from the bush on every side.
Already one is out and away, brushing through dew-
laden grass that soaks to the waist. What matter that,
IN BRITISH EAST AFKICA
113
when in a few more minutes the sun will have drunk
up every drop of moisture ? This hour that of breaking
day and those which succeed it, say till 10 a.m., are
those which we Northerners, we of the thin white skin,
can enjoy to the full. Cool, delicious breezes recall a
summer's day at home ; but here one may see a hundred
sights one cannot see at home. There go the creatures
of night, retreating before the coming day perky
AARD-WOLF.
jackals trotting along in pairs, or a grim hyena slouch-
ing off to his lair. This is the hour when (if ever) you
may encounter some of the " unseen world " the
otocyon and aard-wolf, the ratel and mongoose, great
and small. Beyond, on the open veld, are antelopes
and gazelles, zebras, and perhaps giraffes, scattered,
feeding, far and wide. Later on, in the hot hours, these
assemble into troops, resting during the noontide heat,
and less conspicuous.
True, during those hot hours, the game, even the
sentries, may be less intensely vigilant more easy of
114 ON SAFARI
access. I cannot of my own experience assert that
such is the case. Indeed, I have never been able to
recognise that mere heat, however great, had any
appreciable effect on these creatures of the torrid
zone, or caused the least relaxation of their wondrous
watchfulness.
However that may be, at least to the hunter, the
difference between the two periods is enormous. The
cool breeze that rejoiced the dawn has given place to
the fiery furnace of a vertical sun. The very earth feels
molten ; dust chokes the prostrate stalker and per-
spiration blinds. The reflected heat from below and
direct rays from above combine to render sunstroke
(followed by fever) quite a possible item among the
day's results.
No, be astir with the dawn, spend the matutinal
hours abroad, but return by eleven to rest in your tent or
beneath those shade-giving mimosas that Nature has
provided for the purpose. Thus is conserved the North-
born vigour ; climatic risks are avoided ; and then, to-
wards four o'clock, when rays decline from the perpen-
dicular, you can put in two or three hours' good work
in comparative comfort.
Darkness has settled down. A mile or so ahead you
catch the glint of the camp-fires. Not as in Norway
will Lars and Ivar now have to create a blaze from scant
material, and that often wet. Here all is ready to hand.
Your tent-boys, Enoch and Shadrack by name, awatch
your coming afar, ready with a "long drink " prepared.
It is only " sparklets and lime-juice," but delicious to
parched throat. Enoch removes your boots and
generally acts valet, while his mate has a bath and dry
clothes all ready. Another " boy " stands by with
sponge and towel. Luxuries, indeed, in the wilderness
that one expects not, nor desires, at home ! Half-an-
hour's rest and a pipe, the day's experiences compared,
diaries entered up, and then dinner is announced.
Beneath a spreading acacia stands the table, smart in
IN BEITISH EAST AFRICA 115
clean white napery and brightly-burning lamps. Marrow-
soup, followed by cutlets of gazelle and a spatchcocked
guinea-fowl, then curried venison and a marvellous
pudding (cornflour from Glasgow, peaches from
Australia or pine-apple from Natal) form a sample
menu the whole washed down with tea, while a final
" tot " completes the feast.
The best potatoes on earth grow in British East
Africa ; but these, and flour also, are bulky cargo, so
that, after a week or two, bread and the tuber are
replaced by camp biscuits.
Commotion in the camp presently announces the
arrival of the porters carrying in the spoils of the day.
Silently, one by one, these emerge from outer darkness,
and advancing across the ring of firelight, each deposits
his burden of meat. This is placed in charge of the
headman, while heads and horns are brought up to us,
to add to the ever-increasing Golgotha behind our tents.
At once begins the work of preparing specimens, off-
skinning, pegging-out hides, rubbing-in wood-ash, etc.
The responsibility for this rests with the Somali hunters,
aided by any Swahili recruits they may have enlisted
and taught this work. 1 Meanwhile, the rest of the
crowd are busy cooking. Frying-pans and gridirons
are balanced on three stones at every fire, the fizzling
of broiling meat sounds through the camp, and soon all
are gorging on unwonted abundance.
In this superb climate appetites, even white appe-
tites scarcely recognisable at home, rapidly rival those
of hyenas. The Swahili, it would appear, remain
constitutionally at about that standard.
Another constitutional feature noticed in the Swahili,
1 Many Swahilis display considerable aptitude in this work, and
become quite reliable even in the more delicate operations, such as
cleaning the lips and eye-sockets, the claws of felidas, etc. They
are keen to be so employed, as not only does the accomplish-
ment give them a preference, but it also means receiving two
or three rupees a month over and above their regular wage as
porters.
116
ON SAFARI
in common with indigenous native tribes, was their
power of subsisting, as vultures do, on putrid flesh that
would certainly poison a white man. For days after the
carcases of elephants or rhinos had passed into that stage
when it was impossible to approach within 100 yards
to leeward, these savages continued to feast thereon,
and one morning we witnessed the ridiculous scene
here depicted. As day broke our " boys " descried some
SAVAGES LOOTING "HIGH" RHINO.
natives (presumably Wandorobo) feloniously helping
themselves to a " high " rhino which they had regarded
as their peculiar property. Chase was instantly given,
and the trespassers, on seeing themselves detected, each
collared a stinking rib or other loose titbit, and fled.
Most laughable was the pursuit ; but the agile naked
natives, bounding away like wild animals, made good
their escape in the bush.
It may be worth mention that antelope venison is
excellent, though varying in quality. Waterbuck is
IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA 117
certainly the worst, distinctly coarse and ill-flavoured.
This and zebra, however, are fully appreciated by the
safari, so need not be wasted. My brother, who
tells me he knows, gives the pride of place to the
klipspringer ; while I have grateful recollection of the
tiny dikdiks (Cavendish's and Giinther's), their flesh
being white and of exquisite flavour. Eland will
compare with the best of British beef perhaps a trifle
too fat and may some day possibly be utilised as
such. Oryx also stands in quite the front rank, and so
do impala and all the gazelles. Hartebeest is hard and
rather coarse, excepting the cut alongside the back-
bone. Guinea-fowl, francolin and bush-bustard form
invaluable adjuncts to the larder.
A simple, careless soul is the average Swahili, strong
as a bull, willing, easily led and easily amused. He has,
besides, a distinctly musical turn, and it surprises, after
his feast, to hear the quality of melody he manages to
extract from the rudest of instruments. A single-
headed drum does duty as bass, while a wooden
"chatty" containing peas or pebbles supplies rhythm
and beat. We had two string affairs, something between
a guitar and a banjo, the sound-cases being formed of
the gourd-like shell of some tree-fruit, with a strip of
wood fixed lengthwise across the cavity and furnished
with one or two strings. "With these primitive tools,"
my brother writes, " our ' boys ' succeeded in producing
music which undoubtedly possessed not only form, but
individuality and character. What struck me most was
the absence of any element of brightness or joy. All
was cast in minor key. Possibly the imperfect scale
and inability to modulate may contribute to this effect ;
but the resultant reiteration of melancholy phrase is apt
to grow wearisome. The folk-songs of Northern races
are, for the most part, in this minor mode ; but that is
consonant with environment and character. Why these
light-hearted children of the sun should also express in
song so much of sadness is not apparent. Possibly
118 ON SAFARI
uncounted ages of slavery and savagery have left the
impress deep in their breasts."
These simple harmonies, not without their charm,
grow upon one as evening after evening they soothe
the stillness of the tropical night. Droned out with
intervals strange to European ear, those savage ditties
have oft recoiled the couplets and malagitenas we are
long accustomed to hear sung by our camp-fires in far-
away Spain. Far away, yet there may be a common
source. The cross-bred Swahili, half- Arab, half-African,
springs in part from a race that has left many another
mark on the Spain of to-day.
The Swahili language also rings gracefully and
euphoniously, while many of their names for places,
animals, birds, etc., are certainly prettier than those we
use often borrowed from uncouth Dutch ! Place-
names throughout East Africa (though these are not
Swahili) also deserve note, such as Elmenteita, Nakiiru,
Naivasha, Laikipia, Kamasea. Can any language claim
more euphonious form ?
Sooner or later, the whole country within reach of
any one camp has been traversed in every direction,
explored and hunted. Desired specimens have either
been secured or proved to be impracticable at this point.
It has become necessary to try fresh fields, and the order
issues : " Strike camp at dawn." That next morning
you may take " an easy," since much work has to be
done before the start, and it is an absolute rule never to
attempt hunting while on the march.
On turning out towards sun-up (thus seeing the
camp by day-dawn for the first time), already the canvas
city of yesterday has disappeared. The circle of tents
surrounding a central mountain of stores has vanished.
Not one, save your own, remains standing, and every-
where black men are bustling about, each knowing his
duty and doing it packing, strapping, mobilising.
Hardly had you quitted the blankets than your bed is
seized, dismantled, folded and stowed in its valise.
SOMALI lirNTKRS IN MIDDAY VXDRKSS.
(Elmi Hassan on right.)
SAFARI AWAITING THE ORDER TO START NAIROBI.
IN BRITISH EAST AFRICA 119
While you perform a five-minutes' ablution outside the
door, the tent behind you has come down as by magic ;
and even the canvas wash-basin will be whipped away
from beneath your yet dripping person. Breakfast is
set out beneath yon shady tree, and ere a hasty meal is
finished, the whole camp-outfit is ready to move, packs
completed, burdens assorted and assigned, each man
knowing his own. The whole operation has been per-
formed with a degree of smartness, method and silent
efficiency that surprises. Men such as these represent
valuable material.
Similar scenes will be observed on arrival at the next
camping-point. Without a word said, one's own tent will
have been erected complete ground-sheets laid, bed set
up, table and chairs arrayed in a grove hard by all
within a few short minutes. The brushwood over half-
an-acre has been cleared away with " matchets."
Meanwhile, the cook and his mates have their fires
alight, and dinner preparing ; while already one sees
a fatigue-party returning with burdens of wood and
water.
One morning, however, occurs a hitch. The head-
man desires to see the " Bwana Khubwa " (Great Master).
Silently since we speak not his tongue he tallies off,
with taps of his M'piqui staff, thirty -four burdens, all
laid out in one straight row. Then he indicates that there
are but twenty-six porters. A problem to wrestle with.
Threes into two won't go, and never would ; and rule-of-
three helps no more. There are two plans : (1) To
repack the thirty-four burdens into twenty-six. This
proposal is received in speechful silence. (2) To leave
the surplus stores here in charge of a porter or two, with
a couple of askaris, till we can send back relay-gangs from
the next camp to fetch them.
Long ere the knotty point is solved our chairs and
breakfast-table have melted into packs, and all its para-
phernalia vanished within the spacious " cook-box."
" Hurry up," resounds through the camp. " All ready,"
shouts the swarthy Neapara (the only English words he
120 ON SAFARI
knows). "March ! " we reply ; and, at the order, each
man hoists his allotted burden. An askari takes the
lead, and, following him, the whole crowd fall in, form
line, and file off with serpentine exactitude towards our
next destination ; while hordes of expectant vultures
sweep down to gorge on the debris of a deserted
camp.
HEAD OF WHITE-BEARDED GNU.
CHAPTER XI
ELMENTEITA
(l) IX SEPTEMBER
IN mid- September 1904 I alighted at Elmenteita, a
station in the Rift Valley adjoining and overlooking the
basin of the Enderit River and our lovely hunting-grounds
of six weeks earlier, already described in Chap. III.
These latter, in fact, lay within a few hours' march to
the southward ; but my object in returning was to try
the country to the north of the railway see sketch-
map at p. 14.
The special object was to obtain specimens of
Neumann's hartebeest (Bubalis neumanni), males. As
already mentioned, we had each secured a female of this
species ; but owing either to the extreme wariness of
this antelope or, perhaps in greater degree, to defici-
encies in hunting- craft, a pair of bulls were still lacking,
and these I was determined to obtain at Elmenteita.
At the moment, time was an essential element in the
enterprise, since homeward-bound steamers in those
days were few and often far between, and I had only
left myself some eight shooting-days to attain both this
object at Elmenteita, and, if possible, a second. The
latter, it may be added, was to obtain on the Athi
Plains, 100 miles to the eastward, examples of Coke's
hartebeest and the white-bearded gnu ; but such a
programme seemed altogether too ambitious within those
narrow limits of time.
It was 3 a.m. when the coast-bound train, carrying
away my brother, left me standing alone, in pyjamas,
on the rubble stones that serve for a platform at
121
122 ON SAFARI
Elmenteita. Five minutes later, my blankets having
meanwhile been transferred from the carriage to the
station sleeping-room a convenience that on the Uganda
railway atones for absent hotels I was in bed again.
Starting, as usual, a little before dawn, we found
ourselves at daybreak on a rolling grass-prairie literally
teeming with game. This, however, is not the case here
at all seasons. In February, for example (as will be
shown later), the veld of Elmenteita is comparatively
deserted owing to seasonal migration. To-day (September
11) in every direction stood troop beyond troop of zebras,
outlined dark against the coming sunrise. A herd of
thirty-two elands grazed right ahead, mingled with
them being several ostriches and hartebeests, while the
nearer foreground was alive with gazelles in scores, and
a few wart-hogs and jackals. Away on our right in the
sunlight stretched a string of orange-red kongoni, while
the distant horizon was silhouetted with the galloping-
ungainly forms of others of their kind. Were these
neumanni f
Holding forward (since "herd-bulls" are never the
best), we descried a group of three ; and beyond, one
lone bull. To these we glued attention. The last-
named took right away, but after three hours' work we
still kept touch of the trio. The ground was perfectly
open not a scrap of "advantage" or cover. Here and
there rose low, graduated hillocks formed of volcanic
debris, with broad flats between, on the pools of which
wild-geese splashed and preened, and noisy plovers
bathed. At times we seemed to walk almost through
the herds of zebra, which watched keenly yet undis-
mayed ; and we frequently passed gazelles and geese
once even elands within fair shot. Yet hour after
hour the coveted trio held us in check till the heat of
the day began to be felt. Then our persistent " sticking-
in " told, and suspicion slowly relaxed ; but it was high
noon before they offered a first chance at a long 300
yards, and a ball in the base of neck sent the best bull
staggering to earth. What mattered it then, in those
ELMENTEITA IN SEPTEMBER
123
moments of triumph, to have to suffer four hours of
blazing noontide heat beneath a perpendicular sun and
not so much as the shade of a bulrush !
Towards 4 p.m. we started afresh, and presently fell
in with a herd of ten, two big bulls, one of these a
specially grand beast. But every effort to secure him
failed. Always first to go, first to stop, yet he ever kept
the furthest away. So riveted had my attention been
upon the leader, with no eye for his companions during
NEUMANN'S HAUTEBEESTS.
a two-hour chase, that it was only when Elmi pointed
out that the second-best bull was within reasonable
range that I realised there was another good head
among them at all. At 250 yards full broadside the
bullet took him one foot behind the heart ; half-an-hour
later I got in a second, one foot above that organ, just
missing the spine. These details are given as further
illustrating the vitality of the African antelopes. With
these two terrible wounds (which we could clearly
discern with the glass) this hartebeest kept ahead of
us for another long hour's hard going, and only
124 ON SAFARI
succumbed to a fifth bullet (in the neck) after the sun
had already set.
In a single day I had thus secured two animals that
had previously defied our utmost efforts during a fort-
night's hunting. The heads of my two first Neumann
bulls measured as follows l
LENGTH. CIRCUMFERENCE. TIP TO TIP.
No. 1 . 17 ins. 8| ins. 6f ins.
No. 2 . 16f ins. 9} ins. 8| ins.
The irides were light hazel (those of Jackson's
hartebeest being pale yellow), and they possessed a sort
of dew-claw between the cleft of the fore-hoofs. Their
dead-weight we estimated at 400 Ibs., intermediate
between B. jacksoni, which we put at 400 to 450 Ibs.,
and B. coJcei at 300 to 350 Ibs.
An incident which occurred during our pursuit of this
wounded bull deserves note. We were attended, all
the time, by a hyena which, scenting blood, trotted
along under our lee. He never ranged up alongside the
game (which held a 500-yard lead), but kept level and
not 100 yards away. I was keen to secure him, as Elmi
positively asserted that this hyena was different to the
spotted hyenas we had already shot (Hycsna crocuta),
and I saw myself a distinction. It was probably of the
striped species (H. striata) ; but I dare not risk losing
our main objective, and before that had been secured
we had already lost sight of the hyena in the gathering
gloom of night.
Another curious incident : At times, as we passed
by troops of grazing gazelles, our attendant hyena
trotted through the midst of these without arousing
alarm in their timid breasts. So incredible did this
appear, that I lay down on an ant-hill, sacrificing precious
moments, and brought the glass to bear. There, beyond
all doubt, was that great gaunt beast of prey peacefully
1 These are only average specimens ; we subsequently obtained
trophies exceeding 19 ins.
ELMENTEITA IN SEPTEMBER
125
traversing herds of gazelles, many of which were close
to him, some still grazing, others even playing, but
none taking the slightest visible notice.
The main object at Elmenteita having thus been
achieved in a single day, I might have proceeded at
once to my next proposed venture on the Athi River.
Unfortunately, however, by a strange mistake, I lost all
the advantages of time saved, and put myself to a vast
amount of further trouble all unnecessarily. For, on
STKIPED HYENA.
coming up to my two prizes, I had concluded, quite errone-
ously, that these hartebeests were not Neumann's, but
Coke's ! There was no excuse for this error, since the
two species differ essentially; but I had not, till that
moment, handled either animal or seen B. cokei at all.
Acting on this erroneous premise, we next morning
shifted camp beyond Lake Elmenteita, a long day's
march to the north-west. But here, instead of Bubalis
neumanni, we found the western end of the lake
swarming with nomad Masai, whose vast flocks and herds
had effectually scared away all game.
During this march I shot six selected specimens of
126 ON SAFARI
Thomson's gazelle, choosing the best heads I could see
among hundreds. None of the horns, however, exceeded
13^ ins. in length. These are exquisitely graceful
little antelopes, scarcely so large as a roe -deer ; it was a
lovely spectacle to watch them playfully coursing each
other in sheer exuberance of spirits, the pursued dodging
and doubling with the speed and resource of a hare
before greyhounds. They are confiding little beasties,
and can often be approached, by circling around them,
within a range of 100 to 120 yards ; but even then
present but a small mark for a rifle, since, diminutive
as they are, they possess the same tenacity of life
that characterises their larger congeners, and, unless
struck well forward, will carry on for miles though
practically disembowelled. Their irides are very dark
hazel, and bucks that we weighed scaled from 48
to 57 Ibs.
On approaching the north-west end of the lake, we
found that between the higher plateau we had been tra-
versing and the actual shores was interposed a lower-lying
plain a mile or two in width. The dividing escarpment
at this point was abrupt, dropping to the plain below in
rugged crags of a couple of hundred feet ; and spying
from the ridge, we saw many troops of zebra and
gazelles, with a few impala dotted about. A single
antelope, however, at once arrested attention ; though
generally similar to the granti buck amidst which it
was, this animal stood higher on its legs, was longer in
neck, and moreover displayed the black lateral band
characteristic of G. thomsoni, but not of granti. A
near approach, in full face, was impossible ; but a shot
at 200 yards, though it struck too far back, appeared
completely to have disabled the stranger. Then it
recovered and went off across the far-stretched plain
further than I could follow with binoculars further,
indeed, than I ever remember to have seen a hard-struck
beast go without stopping. Elmi, all along, had asserted
that this was an " Aoul " (Gazella scemmeringi, the
common species of Somaliland), and being a Somali, and
ELMENTEITA IN SEPTEMBER 127
a reliable and intelligent hunter to boot, he ought to
have known. My own impression of the animal seen,
however, but little accords with descriptions of the
heavily -built aoul, the only point of resemblance being
its habit of " bucking," or bounding, after the style of
impala or springbok, whenever it commenced to move.
There, for the present, I must leave it.
Lake Elmenteita being salt, it was necessary to camp
at its extreme west end, where a lovely stream of sweet
water empties into it. This involved a long and heavy
grind under the fierce midday sun, during which I was
almost knocked over by a wart-hog. The brute must
have been sleeping so near the mouth of its den, that
when an askari walked over it the boar bolted, snorting
and grunting, in a cloud of dust. I was only a few yards
behind ; consequently the pig was all but into my legs
before either of us realised the situation. Luckily he
swerved aside in the nick of time, as I had nothing but a
stick in my hands.
Once before, in the Transvaal, I had had an even
closer shave with a wart-hog. It was the Twelfth of
August, and we were holding that festival in the best
way available in Africa francolins taking the place of
grouse when in a patch of bush our dogs gave tongue
in a key that denoted something bigger than " grouse."
On hurrying up, we found a furious fight raging within
an ant-bear's cave. Poor " Flo " backed out bleeding
she was unprepared for what she had found within that
hole ; but ' ; Chops " (always there when biting had to
be done) stuck to it. I had just reached the spot, and
was stooping to look down the den, when a great blue-
grey beast filled the hollow, his ivory tusks gleaming like
a white collar round his neck. That was all I saw, for
in an instant he was on me or rather where I had been ;
for I had jumped aside, pulling trigger at the same
moment, the gun-muzzle within six inches of the beast's
back. Through the cloud of smoke and dust I saw the
unknown beast pitch forward on his head and roll over,
dead. The No. 6 shot had shattered the vertebrae, one
128 ON SAFARI
of the wads being driven right through and sticking
inside the skin beyond. This boar weighed over
200 Ibs., with tusks projecting nearly ten inches from
the jaws.
The country here swarmed with guinea-fowl, and was
studded with thickets and clumps of euphorbia and of
those spiky aloes which form a favourite food of elephants.
There was plenty of old sign and spoor of these animals
evidently made during the rainy season as well as
aloes broken down, and lumps of the fibrous portions
chewed and disgorged.
A long low ridge impending our camp the name of
the spot was Campi M'Baruk was strewn with human
skulls and bones. Such objects are not an uncommon
spectacle in Africa, yet I do not remember to have seen
such quantities as here. It was a regular Golgotha the
result, perhaps, of some intertribal fray, or possibly of
small-pox. 1
It was at tbis point that we met with the Masai
hordes already mentioned, their cattle filling the valley.
These savages displayed no sign of friendship. While
camp was being pitched, a band of a dozen stalwart El-
Moran, or warriors, stark naked but for their spears and
a coating of red clay, passed close by without deigning
to take the slightest notice of the white man. This was
lacking in respect for the "dominant race," so I sent a
messenger, bidding them come into my camp and inform
me of the whereabouts of the game. They told me the
nearest kongoni were a day's march to the westward,
that is, towards the crater of Meningai, which was
quite out of my course.
It was now obvious that this whole venture was a
mistake and a failure : our troubles, moreover, were
intensified by Elmi going down with fever, and I had
myself " a touch of sun " from the midday's heat. I
1 Mr. Jackson tells me that, years before, a trading caravan of
Swahili, under a man named M'Baruk, was surprised at this spot by
Masai, who massacred the entire safari.
ELMENTEITA IN SEPTEMBER 129
decided to fall back upon Eburu, and next morning we
struck and retraced our steps along the lake-shore, where
I had just shot a one-horned impala ; when we descried
a single " Aoul " far out on the open plain. He proved
hopelessly wild, and after infinite manoeuvres, all in
vain, we saw him join two others of his kind, when all
three made right away down-wind behind us. I have
called these animals " Aoul " merely for distinction, and
because it was Elmi's name for them, though what they
actually were is not proven. They were conspicuously
distinct from anything else I saw in East Africa. I
searched the same ground again on my second expedition
(in February 1906), but without seeing a sign of the
aoul.
A few miles to the eastward, beyond and amidst
some broken rocky ridges, we fell in with one of those
immense aggregations of wild game that it has been my
good fortune to meet with on various occasions in this
land. Gazelles in vast numbers (mostly does and small
bucks) thronged the foreground literally colouring the
landscape while a couple of elands, looking gigantic
among such small fry, stood in their midst. Beyond
were numberless troops of zebra, hartebcests, and more
elands, 1 the whole assemblage being sprinkled with wart-
hogs and ostriches ! In one long straggling group 1
counted over 100 of these giant birds.
The hartebeests were inaccessible ; but by aid of
some broken ridges, I got well in to three separate
groups of elands about 100 in all and enjoyed the
sight at close quarters ; all, however, were females or
young beasts, not a single heavy old bull among them.
Jackals trotted about and a curious addition wild
geese (chenalopex) fed on the driest plain.
I secured here two of the finest granti bucks that we
had then obtained : the first in company with half-a-
dozeii does, while the second had a harem of thirty-four.
1 Note that we had seen no elands in this district six weeks before
in July except a single young beast on the Enderit River. Now
was there a sign of them when I returned here later, in February.
130
ON SAFARI
Their beautiful annulated horns were almost identical,
measuring each 25 ins., by 6|-ins. in basal circumference,
and 12 ins. between tips. While off- skinning the second, a
tawny eagle (Aq. rapax) joined the throng of assembling
vultures and marabou, and I secured it with a Paradox
bullet. This is the commonest of the East-African
eagles, next to it being the Bateleur and the white-headed
fish-eagles. I noticed a single vulture which with its
TAWNY EAGLE. "]'
A matutinal "shake-up" before starting the day's work.
pale-bluish plumage and bright-red head resembled
the American king-vulture. I presume this would be
Otogyps auricularis.
An awkward accident occurred with one of these two
bucks. Elmi had seized it, somewhat recklessly, by the
hind-leg : when it, swift as thought, swung round, and its
sharp horn dealt him a severe blow on the shin. Owing
to this, and Elmi being extremely weak with fever, we
were obliged to change our course and make direct for
Elmenteita station, whence I sent Elmi into hospital
at Nairobi. This was a heavy loss to me, Elmi Hassan
having been my constant companion during three
months and a most trustworthy and intelligent hunter.
ELMENTEITA IN SEPTEMBER 131
I selected, as gunbearer, a Swahili " boy " named Hamisi,
whom we had noted for his keen eyesight and aptness
in hunting.
That afternoon (September 14) a tremendous thunder-
storm broke with tropical rains. The night, also, was dis-
turbed ; first jackals, then hyenas, wailed all around,
setting the station dogs barking madly until 11 p.m.,
when a pair of lions came along and silenced the lot.
These last came so near that I loaded the Paradox and
went out ; but it was a black-dark night, raining, and
nothing could be seen. Lions have a great stronghold
in the belt of strong bush that lies facing the mountain-
range of Eburu. Two Englishmen, we were told, had
recently tried for them, tying up a sheep and waiting in
prepared shelters on two nights. On both occasions, the
lions carried off the bait without being seen in the dark.
Next morning we resumed our march towards Eburu,
the safari proceeding direct, while I tried the lovely
stretch of woodland lying along the base of the hills,
where in July we had seen so much game. Here again,
we found ourselves supplanted by the intrusive Masai,
who, with their herds, had occupied the whole beautiful
strath. Beyond, however, among the foothills, we fell
in with hartebeest, and I secured a third Neumann bull,
remarkable for his exceptionally massive horns, which
measured 1 1|- ins. in basal circumference.
After some manoeuvres with Ohanler's reedbucks,
fruitless as usual, we finally reached Eburu since
abandoned as a station. Bad as the lions had been last
night at Elmenteita, they were as nothing compared with
the rats at Eburu to-night ! No sooner were lights out
than the brutes were running in droves all over me,
gnawing bags, boots, gun-cases, everything. I relit
the lamp, but it burnt out, and after the last match
had been struck, they were free to eat even the boots
that I hurled in a vain effort to keep them at bay.
Three-thirty brought relief, for then the early train
(running thrice a week) came along and carried us off
to Nairobi.
132
ON SAFARI
Durino- the four days I had secured the following
o / c
specimens
Three Neumann's hartebeest, bulls.
One Sing- sing waterbuck, bull, as below.
Two Grant's gazelle, bucks.
Six Thomson's gazelle, bucks.
One impala, buck.
One wart-hog, boar.
One tawny eagle.
Sundry guinea-fowl.
SING-SING WATERBUCK.
CHAPTEK XII
ELMENTEITA
(ll) IN FEBRUARY
EARLY in February 1906, eighteen months after the
events described in the last chapter, we returned to
Elmenteita, our primary object being to set out thence
on an expedition among the Laikipia mountains, distant
some seventy or eighty miles to the northward. Before
starting, however, we intended to spend a few days at
this point, renewing the happy memories of 1904.
To all outward appearance, Elmenteita remained
precisely as we had left it the station, a tiny tin shanty
standing utterly alone, a speck amidst boundless veld and
prairie, across which runs that puny three-foot railway,
a mere thread, over hill and dale. Great changes, never-
theless, had occurred changes that, as foreshadowing
development in our new colony, one must regard with
satisfaction, though in the breast of sportsman and
naturalist a pang of regret will not be suppressed.
The whole of the lands south of the railway line had
meanwhile been sold to private owners, and we could
only survey at a distance our erstwhile lovely hunting-
grounds stretching away down the Enderit River to
Lake Nakuru. True, the new owners were said to be
obliging enough in granting leave to shoot some even
wanting the game destroyed ; but in Africa we ask no
man's leave, and it was to the north side we had come
to turn our attention. 1
1 Only a few months later we read in the Nairobi newspaper
T/ie Globe Trotter, that all the lands northward from the railway
extending to Lake Elmenteita and beyond it to the escarpment, had
likewise been sold so rapid hereaway is the process of colonisation !
133
134 ON SAFARI
The rolling treeless veld that extends northward from
Elmenteita, with its game, has already been described
(p. 122 et seq.). But there was, in February, no such
abounding aggregation of wild-life as we had met with
here in July, August and September. That circumstance,
however, was merely due to the seasonal migrations of
the animals, and had no relation to changing ownership.
The zebra, for example, leave this region early in
December, not reappearing till May or June ; while of
the other animals that were so abundant in July and
August, perhaps a tenth, or less, remained in February.
Not that there was any real lack of animal-life even now.
The veld, though no longer crowded, was fairly peopled
with beautiful creatures. There were no zebras, but a
few hartebeests and ostriches still lingered ; groups of
granti moved about with stately gait, and herds of
"Tommies" chased and gambolled in their sportive
style. Wart-hogs, owing to their subterranean habit, are
probably less mobile, and our first day here (February
8), being dull and drizzling, we saw great numbers,
including some real monsters. One solitary boar, in
particular, our hunters at first mistook for a rhino,
and we decided to spend the next day in acquiring
his mask. That morning, however, broke bright and
hot, and never a pig could we see ! They were then
all underground.
I shot that day a superb granti, a solitary buck, with
25-in. horns ; but merely mention the fact to illustrate
a phase that is worth note in this African shooting.
Though severely wounded by the first shot, the buck
held on, on till it was clear we should never overtake
him ; never, at least, by following " hot-foot." I there-
fore recalled my men, much to their disgust, and lay
down to watch. The buck then, being alone, also laid
down, a mile ahead, and, growing stiffer, at the end of
an hour I was able to approach again within 200 yards,
when a second bullet (in ribs) further crippled him : but
we still had to put in a second thirty minutes, lying
patiently in that sweltering heat, ere he would allow
ELMENTEITA IN FEBRUAKY 135
another approach near enough to finish him with a third
bullet.
A prize which I regarded with even greater satisfaction
this day was a horned female of the Thomson gazelle.
This does at best carry very tiny horns, and even those
are most difficult to distinguish owing to their horns
(only 4 to 5 ins. in length) being shorter than the mobile
ears and usually concealed thereby. Then, after closely
scrutinising through the glass a hundred does, when
one at length detects the special specimen sought, that
particular female may be accompanied by a fawn whose
life not only the game-laws, but, far more, a sportsman's
instincts render sacred. To-day, however, after many a
futile effort, I succeeded not only in finding a horned
yeld doe, but in approaching and securing her. Her
horns, irregular and of somewhat abnormal appearance,
measured 4 and 4| ins., and she weighed 32 Ibs.
That night in camp we had the usual lion-alarm, and,
on turning out, distinctly saw two animals moving about
phantom-like in the moonlight at 100 to 150 yards.
These we watched for quite half-an-hour, but could
never distinguish substance from shadow clearly enough
to shoot. In the morning, we found that a gazelle had
been killed close by, and the spoor showed that the
marauders were leopards.
Beyond the prairies eastwards, a league or two
away, rise a series of rugged conical koppies which, we
found, were another home of Chanler's reedbuck. These
most elusive little antelopes, regular rock-jumpers, ever
alert and intensely wary, have generally beaten us, partly
owing to their highly-protective coloration. Though
their heads and necks are tawny, yet the whole body-
colour is as grey as the rocks they frequent indis-
tinguishable therefrom, especially at long range. This
day (February 10), though both scored hits, we were
yet beaten by two of the wounded among the crags and
steep slopes. The third, however, being severely crippled,
betook itself to some rough scrub-clad rocks below, where,
after a laborious chase of two hours, I eventually secured
136
ON SAFAKI
it with my very last cartridge. What strikes one on
examining these antelopes newly-killed, are the immense
ears and the big prominent eye, set high up in the broad
forehead no wonder they can see and hear ! The
irides are rich dark hazel, and a narrow black blaze runs
down centre of face.
During this cripple-chase, while passing through
some terribly rocky ground, I found myself in the midst
of a troop of baboons, some running on all-fours, others
perched on rock-pinnacles. I shot one of the latter, a
female of the East-African
species, Papio ibeanus, w r hich
was busy eating a wild fruit
like a "devil's tomato," called
here by a pretty Swahili name
that I forget. The day's bag
also included an impala and
a pair of Cavendish's dikdik,
the
male scaling 11|- Ibs.
CHANLER'S EEEDBUCK (FEMALE).
(Madoqua cavendish*), with
horns 3 J ins. in length ; the
female weighed a good pound
more than her lord. I saw
them feeding outside some
very rocky scrub, stalked the
spot, and got both with a
I also wounded an ostrich,
right-and-left of buckshot,
but failed to secure him.
Leaving Elmenteita, we marched round the south-
eastern end of the lake, seeing on route several more
immense wart-hogs, a few ostriches and other game. The
country here is absolutely lovely, park-like, studded with
clumps of mimosa, while " fever-trees " like huge beeches,
except for their vicious thorns and blood-red inner bark,
fringe the lake-shore ; there are rugged koppies in micf-
distance, and a mountain background to complete the
picture. We encamped on the Karriendoos River, on
the north side of the lake, and half-a-mile inland from
the river-mouth. 1
1 See sketch map at p. 14.
ELMENTEITA IN FEBRUARY 137
x
A curious example of animal-cunning occurred on this
march. Twice I walked on to a sleeping jackal, and on
each occasion the animal, after running thirty or forty
yards, sprang high in air, repeating the leap a few yards
beyond, in apparent anticipation of the advent of a
bullet ! It was the more remarkable as these beasts are
rarely shot at. There are in East Africa two species of
jackal the ordinary fox-like animal with white-tipped
brush (Canis aureus), and the beautiful black-backed
jackal (C. mesomelas) with golden-spangled sides, and
whose brush deepens to black at the end. Both species
are equally abundant. I weighed three common jackals,
two females 15 and 16^ Ibs., one male 17 Ibs.
A NIGHT WITH PACHYDERMS
Our immediate objective on Lake Elmenteita was to
obtain specimens of the hippopotami which frequent
that salt lake in some numbers. According to our
information, these great amphibians, while spending the
day in mid-water, approach the sweet-water rivers to
drink at dusk, thus affording the chance of a shot.
Our river, the Karriendoos, was quite a small stream,
not so big as a Northumbrian burn, and towards evening
we concealed ourselves on the point of a rush-clad spit
that commanded its entrance. Several hippos were in
view in the open water outside and a wondrous scene in
tropical wild -life unfolded as evening advanced. Skeins
of huge spur-winged geese, black and white, flighted in
to drink the sweet water ; ducks also of varied kinds
the equatorial representative of our mallard (Anas
undulata), together with pintail and shoveler, familiar
in Europe. There were teal of two kinds, garganeys
;uid pochard (erythrophthalma) all these flew or swam
within half-gunshot of our hide. Outside, among the
rushes, swam groups of the singular Maccoa pochard
(Erismatura maccoa), ducks whose plumage is rather
a glossy filament like that of grebes, and with long stiff
cormorant -like tails which the drakes often carry bolt
upright. On the foreshores waded sacred and glossy
138 ON SAFARI
ibises, greenshanks, and plovers specially noticeable
being the spur-winged species (Hoplopterus speciosus)
in its handsome contrasted colours that recall our grey
plover (S. helvetica) in its summer dress. At the point
of a rush-clad spit stood a Goliath heron, stiffly erect and
with the silvery neck-plumes finely offset by the dark
maroon breast. On another occasion at this spot we
recognised a pair of the great African jabiru or saddle-
bill. Far out on the lake sat pelicans, flamingoes and
grebes.
The hippos, however, though they floated, and
splashed hard by, raising vast heads to yawn and
HIPPOS IN LAKE ELMEXTEITA.
exposing great curving ivories, carefully kept beyond
range. So intensely interesting was the sight that we
lingered on till past dusk ere taking our campward way.
The moon being some days past the full, the dark-
ness beneath the forest-trees that fringed the lake was
intense indeed I could barely keep in touch with my
Swahili gunbearer, Mabruki, though only a yard ahead.
While feeling our way thus through forest, the
stillness of night was suddenly shocked by a loud shrill
snort on our immediate front and apparently not
fifteen yards ahead. Then, contrary to all orders,
Mabruki insanely fired my big *450 into that enveloping
pall of darkness. No human eye not even a savage
eye could conceivably have seen anything to aim at.
Mabruki had lost his head.
ELMENTEITA IN FEBEUARY 139
After the shot, stillness reigned as before. There
was no sign of a charge, no crash of a falling or a flying
foe only silence, presently broken by my brother
asking from behind, " What's happened ? " A few yards
ahead, we found thick bush, impenetrable ; so, leaving
a handkerchief to mark the exact spot, we resumed
our course, intending to return by daylight. Little
recked we that long before that day should break we
were destined to hear that terrible snort once more
but eras f age qucsrere.
The hippos, we ascertained, had recently been
disturbed at this point, which explained their shyness in
approaching the waters of Karriendoos. We therefore
changed our tactics and decided to attack them by night,
when they come ashore to feed far and wide on the
grassy veld. The moon being just past the full,
favoured this enterprise, and we gave orders for a start
at 2.30 a.m. next morning. It was, however, but a
little after midnight that we were aroused by the night-
watchmen, who excitedly stated that there was already
a hippo within sight of the camp. This, on turning out
in pyjamas, we at once verified for ourselves. There,
not 300 yards away on the open prairie, the great
pachyderm was plainly visible in the bright moon-
rays. Pulling on coats and camp-shoes, we were
ready for action and away within thirty seconds. The
intruder deigned no sign of notice, and soon we had
slipped in to what looked well within fifty yards, at
which point I whispered " That's near enough ; let's
stop to fire," and had already dropped down in order to
rest the '450 on my knee, when our huge opponent at
last detected us. Again that terrible hissing snort, and
in a moment he had turned upon us. I could not rise,
so fired both my barrels, my brother (who remained on
foot) only one, realising that we were caught and re-
serving his second for contingencies. On reaching back
for my second gun, I found that the valiant Mabruki
h;id gone he was already fifty yards away campward.
But no second gun was needed. So far as one could
140 ON SAFARI
judge in the fickle moonlight, the great beast still
continued his forward onrush, but there was another
movement downward : and in five more yards he had
gradually subsided, ploughing a trench with his snout
ere he rolled over flat on his broadside not thrice his
own length from where I sat. Then the sense of relief
and of danger averted struck home together : for in that
"FACED BOUND IN THE MOONLIGHT."
open ground, short of dropping the enemy dead, there
could have been but small chance of escape.
To make sure, we put in two more bullets in the
heart and presently the stertorous breathing had ceased.
Then cautiously drawing in, we discovered that our
prize was not the harmless hippo after all, but a
gigantic bull-rhinoceros ! This fact our men had
learned earlier that snort had enlightened them : it
explained Mabruki's sudden flight, though Ali Yama,
my brother's Somali hunter, had stood firm. This rhino
carried magnificent horns, the front one over 28 ins. in
length, second 13 ins., while further up was a third
THE THKEE-HORNED RHINO'S HEAD.
Lake Elmenteita in background.
ELMENTEITA IN FEBRUARY 141
horn, more or less rudimentary. After a cursory
examination, we returned to bed at 1.20.
At three o'clock we turned out again, but in five
hours' walk failed to find a hippo ashore, though several
were grunting and blowing close outside the rushes. I
stalked one of these and at about fifty yards fired at
his head so much, that is to say, as was above water,
say three inches. The light was most uncertain for
fine shooting, for the moon being in zenith, perpendicu-
lar, the night-sights lent no assistance. Yet the ball
seemed to strike fair and square, since no water flew up :
but we saw that hippo no more. He disappeared without
leaving a ripple or the slightest clue to guide us. What
a disturbance that shot created ! From the trees over-
head clattered out guinea-fowl in scores, while all the
peoples of the wilderness, geese and pelicans, flamingoes,
ibis, cranes, and the rest protested in strident cries
against that outrage on the decencies of night.
As the dawn broke we thought we heard a lion close
by ; it proved, however, to be an ostrich, the two
notes being singularly alike. Then followed another
startling cry, an explosive croak coming from the
heavens, twice repeated. It was a Goliath heron, sailing
overhead from the forests above. Presently, with set
wings, the great bird swept downwards and settled on
a rush-clad spit a mile away. Ducks in successive packs
(chiefly mallard, pintail and shoveler) were stream-
ing in towards the lake, where we also observed sacred
ibis, stilts, greenshanks, ruffs and green sandpipers.
Returning to camp after the adventures of this
night, we examined the rhino. All our three bullets,
we found, had got well home ; but the shot that had
actually done the deed was little short of a miracle
Providential. Missing by a hair's-breadth the two great
horns as the beast came on headlong, it had crashed into
the massive neck between the ears, smashing the spinal
column. Had the ball touched either horn, it must
have been deflected.
It was my pony, " Goldfinch," we now learned, that
142
ON SAFARI
had first called the watchman's attention to the rhino,
by whinnying and straining on the picket-ropes. There
can be no doubt this was the same rhino we had run into
earlier in the evening ; for this is not a " rhino country,"
and there was no spoor or " sign " of their presence.
This beast had been travelling along the lake-shore
when Mabruki's shot turned him back at 8 p.m., but
by 12.30 p.m., midnight, he was back again probably
in bad humour and this time almost into our camp !
SACRED IBIS.
Here are put down for comparison the measurements
of this and of another big rhino bull that I shot
subsequently at Simba
(2) SIMBA.
Two RHINO BULLS. (1) ELMENTEITA.
Length over-all, snout to tip-
tail . . .
Height at shoulder (straight)
Circumference head (behind
2nd horn)
front horn at
base . .
,, rair horn at
base . .
Length of front horn . .
12 ft. 8 ins.
5 ft. 7 ins.
9 ft. ins.
4 ft. 4 ins.
2 ft. 2| ins.
1 ft. 5 ins.
2 ft. 4 ins.
12ft, 7 ins.
4 ft. 6| ins.
7 ft. 9 ins.
1 ft. 9 ins.
1 ft. 4 ins.
1 ft. 5 ins.
A few days later I heard, for the third time, the
ELMENTEITA IN FEBRUARY 143
curious hissing snort of a rhino. This time it was
repeated thrice in rapid succession and close at hand,
my two men at once whispering " Kifaru." We were
at the moment after hippo, creeping along the narrow
belt of sharp rocks and lava which separates the deep
water of the lake from dense impenetrable jungle on the
landward side (impenetrable save by creeping along the
low tunnels made by hippos). It was no place to take
on a rhino. We therefore lay low, passing an anxious
quarter of an hour. Afterwards by a detour we picked
up the spoor inland ; but that rhino had travelled afar.
AFTER HIPPO
'Twere tedious to relate in detail all the efforts we
made to secure the coveted hippo. Morning after morn-
ing we set forth in the small hours, scoured by moon-
light every green meadow and grassy pasture for miles
around the lake, yet never once did we succeed in
finding the great amphibians ashore. Once, it is true,
I surprised, close at hand, a half-grown " toto " among
the reeds, but him I let depart in peace. As they
refused to meet us on land, we next tried to tackle
them in the water.
On seeing a hippo near the shore it is possible to
reach the nearest point of land by advancing at the
moment he disappears, lying low before his eyes again
break the surface. While stalking them thus we noticed
the curious fact that their snorts and grunts are dis-
tinctly audible from far under water, and that although
no signs or air-bubbles reach the surface.
The target presented by a hippo when resting at the
surface is extremely small. There are his nostrils, repre-
sented by the- size of a man's hand held flat ; a foot or
two behind these, often separated by water, rises the
prominent upper portion of the cranium, carrying the
eyes and little pig-like ears. The total height of this,
as exposed, is perhaps four inches ; but, to be fatal, the
bullet must take only the lowest inch. At daybreak on
144 ON SAFAKI
February 14, 1 managed to place a *450 solid ball within
some decimals of that spot with manifest and immediate
results, the huge bull rolling over and over, wallowing
in the water for over half-an-hour, all ends up. Now
his four stumpy legs were in sight, anon the vast head
and fore-end reared up to fall back with sounding splash,
churning the still green surface into crimson foam.
After thirty minutes of this flurry, this apparent death
agony, the beast subsided, though we could still hear
grunts and groans from the depths below. I left men
to watch for his reappearance, and at five that afternoon
was gratified to receive the report, " Him finish."
Next morning we set out at 4 a.m., twenty hands,
with ropes and axes and the rest to bring him in. But
it proved a day of bitter disappointment the cup
dashed from one's lips ! For not a sign of this, or of
my other wounded hippo, did we ever see : whether a
hippo can recover from such a blow, 1 or whether he
goes ashore to die, at least the trophies were lost to me,
and no better luck had befallen my brother. After this
week of labour, up half the nights and most of the
days, struggling through the roughest places on earth,
canebrakes, thorn-jungle, cruel rocks and lava, under
an equatorial sun, or a waning moon the hippo had
beaten us.
On Lake Elmenteita we noticed the assemblages of
swallows preparing for their northward journey. The
earliest of these mobilisations occurred on February 14,
when they congregated in thousands on the islets,
crowding the low thorns. By February 17 all these
swallows had passed on ; but we observed similar assem-
blages at various other points up to the end of March.
On the afternoon of February 13, during a heavy
shower of rain, we enjoyed quite a chorus of song-birds ;
but this ceased on the sun coming out an hour or so
later. On the 15th a skylark (of sorts) began to sing.
Its note was inferior to that of our species ; but its
1 Mr. Jackson writes me : " They do recover." See also his
remarks in Big Game Shooting, Badminton Library, I, p. 273.
ELMENTEITA IN FEBRUARY 145
flight and actions, with the fluttering descent, were pre-
cisely similar. I also noticed here a tree-pipit descend-
ing with the same hovering insect-like flight it uses at
home during the nesting-season. Here, however, it was
silent. Another of our small British migrants that we
noticed on Lake Elmenteita was the wheatear.
Impressive as had been the sight of monster pachy-
derms still roaming this earth in flesh and blood, and
not as extinct mammoths in some geological museum,
yet the sight of these tiny British warblers here on the
far equator, was scarcely less striking.
AN AFRICAN* LARK, OR " LONG-CLAW " (MoCTOnyx CTOCeUS).
Th roat and lower parts, also eyebrow, golden-yellow.
Following are my brother's impressions of these days
and nights on Lake Elmenteita
" When the hippo had beaten us by daylight and
we tried the alternative of a night-attack, some new
sensations were experienced sensations that cannot,
perhaps, be entirely expressed in words unless the spirit
of poetry be inborn. How intangible and w r eird is the
environment as one sets forth at midnight with only
the silver-fretted light of the moon as a guide ! One
naturally holds the open ground, avoiding the deep
shade of trees or banks, not only to save the risk of
falling into pitfall or unseen obstacle, but by an un-
conscious dread of the unknown that is hidden in dark-
ness. So, too, one imagines that safety is better assured
where two or three are gathered together. Few, in fact,
would care to face alone the dangers of the wild African
146 ON SAFAEI
night, since out there the night is very much alive
more so than the day. The rush of something in the
bush, a scuffle and clatter ahead, cause a chill sensation
to run uninvited through one's nerves ; it is probably
only some antelope or a bush-pig, or a pack of guinea-
fowl disturbed at roost ; but it might have been a lion
or a rhino. Along the lake-shore, from beyond the
fringing reeds, resound the sullen grunts of the hippo,
and horrid splashes of water recur one cannot see
where.
" From away to the left comes a long-drawn growl.
' Lion/ some one whispers. ' No.' mutters a shikari
in one's ear ; ' that's a leopard where you killed the
waterbuck yesterday.' ' Let's go and see,' we reply,
determined to let no sign of ' nerves ' appear, and out
across the moonlit veld we move. There, sure enough,
are ghostly shadows retreating and reappearing from out
the pall. These are scouting jackals and hyenas ; and
just beyond we see, glistening in the moon-rays, the
white vertebrae and ribs of the waterbuck all minor
anatomical items already devoured or carried off.
" Slowly pass those long dark hours while we explore
mile after mile of the lake-shore, examine with night-
glasses bay after bay and infinity of calm moon-lit
waters. Now it is time to make for our appointed posts
ere the sun discovers us. One of us takes position on a
reed-clad promontory, the other on some rocks a mile
beyond.
" From my covert amidst sedge and flag, a typical
African scene unfolds as the sun dispels the mists and
mirages of the mom. First, two solitary snipes alight
on a rocky islet close in front, stow their long bills
along their backs, and go to sleep; a shoveler-drake,
with lustrous green head, prods the shore with ungainly
beak ; then a pair of African mallards (Anas undulata)
alight alongside the unnoticing snipes, preen for a
minute, and themselves go to sleep. The drake's near
foot constantly slips over the narrow ledge. This for
some time he refuses to notice, but can't stand the
V
148
ON SAFARI
discomfort for ever. Why does lie not move an inch
inland ? No, that is not his way ; so the pair depart
to seek more convenient quarters elsewhere. Mean-
while, a score of long-legged stilts have arrived. These
are not somnolent, but set to work busily in search of
breakfast, wading and dabbling among the floating
water-weeds.
" Far away beyond, on the open water, the mirage has
hitherto distorted every object. I have been watching
some great white things that I thought were swans, and
was wondering how they got here. Now, as the sunlight
FLAMINGOES FLIGHTING.
strengthens, I see they are pelicans asleep on a shallow,
and there is a line of flamingoes beyond. Presently a
rushing of water sets me alert, and a hippo cow swims
rapidly past not twenty yards away, with her toto
easily keeping pace. I do not shoot, and they disappear
round the point quite unconscious of the danger they
have just incurred. A family party of five one huge
bull, with two cows and two totos lie basking near a low
rocky islet 200 yards out. For two hours I watched
them, but they came no nearer. Then shots resound
from beyond the point, so we arise, stretch, and go on
to find A watching a hippo bull apparently in the
throes of its death-flurry."
While encamped here, on the Karriendoos, one of
149
our porters, a N'yumwezi named Ibrahim, died rather
suddenly. The apparent cause was inflammation of the
throat, rendering him speechless, nor had we either the
knowledge or the means to alleviate it. The first in-
timation was brought us during the afternoon ; we tried
such simple remedies as we had, but at seven o'clock,
just as we were sitting down to dinner, word was sent
in that the poor fellow was dead.
He was buried at dawn outside the camp, the grave
being five feet deep and the body, wrapt in his blanket,
placed sideways in a narrower trench dug some eighteen
inches deeper. This the men covered with piles of thorns
and brushwood before filling in the earth, the whole
being finally heaped over with stones. That night
hyenas and jackals kept up an unearthly concert all
around the camp, but the grave remained intact in the
morning.
A few days later, having in the meantime been
obliged, by an attack of fever, as below mentioned, to
abandon our intended expedition to Laikipia, we repassed
the spot and found that poor Ibrahim's remains had
been dug out by hyenas.
An incident in this connection illustrates what watchful
care the Colonial Government exercises over the rights
and interests of our black fellow-subjects. Months after-
wards, while paying-off our safari at Mombasa, I had
entered, on the official discharge form, this man as
"dead"; another as "missing believed to be dead."
Objection, however, was taken, and further explanation
required, especially the precise dates, ]est some balance
of wages might remain due to their executors. Now
the contingency of African savages possessing such
modern refinements as " executors " had certainly not
occurred to me, and the suggestion almost provoked a
sense of the ludicrous. The grim picture opposite gives,
I fear, a more practical view of those functionaries.
These trustees may truly be said to be ' ' dealing with
the whole estate," since on totting up accounts it
appeared that poor Ibrahim had not run off his advance-
150
ON SAFARI
pay. Hence, presumably, some small balance stood to
my credit. But I did not apply to the executors.
On February 17, we struck camp and set out on the
long march to Laikipia, a Masai guide having been sent
by the kindness of Mr. Hobley. But that expedition
was not destined to be accomplished. We ran into a
period of tropical thunderstorms. Intense sun-heat all
the morning (temperature 98 degrees in our tents) would
be followed by a thunder-burst, with diluvial rains and a
sudden fall of 20 degrees within an hour. This brought
on an attack of my old enemy fever, followed by
dysentery. There was no alternative but to abandon
the venture and fall back upon the. railway.
STERNUM OF OSTRICH.
Showing entire absence of a keel.
CHAPTER XIII
ELEPHANTS
PASSING over tedious days spent fighting with fever
at Nakuru days while tropical thunderstorms raged
every afternoon and 1 was held up a prisoner in my tent
an incident occurred that altered all our plans.
There arrived direct news of elephants news on which
we could rely ; the elephants, moreover, were close at
hand. Within five-and-twenty miles a big herd had
been seen on the Molo River to the westward, and were
reported to be moving across us towards the north-
east.
Now throughout that season of 1905-6 herds of
elephants had been rambling here and there within our
British territories, and their presence at various points
had already been reported to us. Hitherto, however, all
such reports had been more or less indefinite, and in
every case the distance considerable. Elephants, we
knew, move fifty miles in a night our own extreme
mobility being twenty ; hence all seductions had hither-
to been declined. But here the case was wholly altered.
If the herd now reported said to number forty held
the line of march stated, we lay almost on their flank,
and, by a smart move, might cut them out.
It was a clear chance the chance, maybe, of a lifetime
and we seized it. Though personally ill and weak, we
were into the saddle and away by daybreak. Our plan
of campaign was to march direct on Lake Solai, a marshy
vlei lying some twenty-five miles to the north-east among
the outliers of the Laikipia Range, and which was known
to be an occasional resort of elephants in the hope either.
151
152 ON SAFARI
to cut their spoor on route, or, alternatively, to find the
herd at Solai itself.
After rounding the crater of Meningai, our course
lay up that broad upland valley we had already
traversed in 1904 (p. 48), and leaving the safari to
pursue the direct path, we deflected with our gun-bearers
into the wooded foothills of the northern slopes. There-
in, during that morning, we encountered evidence of
elephants on a scale the like of which we have not seen
before or since. For miles this forest was absolutely
devastated wrecked : huge trees overthrown, one upon
another, their limbs rent asunder ; cedars and cypress,
mimosas and acacias torn to shreds, the tall grass
trampled flat ; while, amidst the ruin, chewed branches
and disgorged masses of bark and fibre everywhere
littered the ground. We could plainly distinguish places
where several elephants had worked collectively to over-
throw some extra strong tree. This destruction had no
relation to the herd of elephants we were now in search
of ; our men reckoned it dated a week previously, and
our own judgment confirmed that view ; yet we enjoyed
the excitement of pushing forward through the wreck,
picturing to ourselves a vast pachyderm at every forest-
opening ! We also struck quite fresh spoor of buffalo,
though we saw nothing except waterbuck. In the belt
of brushwood bordering the veld below East-African
Bohor reedbuck were now numerous, though none were
seen here in 1904, and W shot a couple. We also
killed to-day a puff-adder.
This country, eighteen months previously, had been
full of Masai with their cattle, sheep and donkeys. Now
these savages had been "removed" into the Laikipia
Reserve ; their kraals were burnt and deserted, while
elephant, buffalo and other game had reappeared.
At midday we halted on the Alabanyata River,
intending to push on at 4 p.m. ; but to our unspeakable
vexation, the usual thunderstorm burst, torrential rains
obliged us to encamp, and forbade all hope of further
advance that night. A second shock followed. As
ELEPHANTS
153
dusk fell, we observed through the pouring rain another
safari approaching up our valley. They presently
encamped a mile or so below us. This signified nothing
less than a serious crisis. After deep consultation held,
we decided that, being ahead, we would maintain that
position at all costs, and accordingly gave orders to
mask tents, extinguish all fires, and to strike camp at
3 a.m. next
PUFF-ADDER.
Length 4 ft. ; thickset and sluggish, with flat head like a toad ; but its
bite is deadly.
February 23. This eventful day began with a two-
hours' scramble in black darkness through pathless forest
and jungle, and shortly after dawn we struck the spoor
of a solitary buffalo bull. This being quite fresh, W
followed it towards the right, taking my tracker, Kenana
(who alone knew the route to Solai), with him. The
safari being on lower ground to the left, I rode on alone
with my two gun-bearers, Mabruki and Salim, and a
syce. Suddenly there recommenced that terrible
tropical downpour, driving in our faces on the bleakest
and most bitter gale I ever remember in Africa. It was
worthy of the Hardanger Vidden at its worst, and in
half-an-hour I was seized with a fresh attack of fever.
154 ON SAFAKI
Being all separate, without means of communication,
aggravated the miseries of the moment ; spirits fell
below zero, and the whole venture, in my then state,
now appeared sheer madness suicidal. Hope was all
but dead within my breast when Farra, the syce,
stopped and, pointing through the viewless torrent
along the hillside, whispered, " Kifaru ! " (rhinoceros).
The excitement of that word effected wonders, renewing
life and hope and pulling me together. After a short
stalk I descried a vast bulky form, half hidden amid thorn-
scrub on the slope above. The head was not in sight ; but
indeed through that driving mist and deluge all details
were invisible one could scarce see to distinguish the
foresight, and the ball struck very low, behind the
fore-leg. The rhino whipped round and vanished as a
rabbit might, giving no chance for a second shot, but
after galloping 100 yards up-hill fell over, squealing, and
was dying ere we reached the spot. This was a female,
with only poor horns, though those details could not
before be seen. Both lungs were penetrated. These
organs, in a rhino, extend low down.
An hour later, while trudging along in flood-water
that surged ankle-deep down the valley-floor, we
descried three men approaching from the opposite
direction. They proved to be my brother, with Ali and
Kenana, on their way to Solai. But we also thought
we were proceeding thither ! Obviously one party or
the other was hopelessly astray. But for that purely
fortuitous tumble-together I should inevitably have con-
tinued walking on in the wrong direction, till finally
"benighted" soaked, ill, without food or shelter; it
was a narrow escape. Such are the risks one must take
in wild lands.
It was nearly noon when the rocky valley we were
traversing opened out into a broad basin, with a shallow
reed-embowered lake in its midst, the whole encircled by
stony mountains ; and we saw, sheltered by a cleft in
the western escarpment, our white tents established at
Solai.
ELEPHANTS 155
Thankfully we ordered lunch to be ready in half-an-
hour, each meanwhile retiring to his tent for a warm
bath and change. But during that half-hour the crisis
arrived. Within ten minutes, an excited black head
had pushed itself through the flap of my tent,
exclaiming those magic words " Tembo ! tembo ! ! "
(elephants).
Then from our tent-doors we saw a memorable
spectacle across that hill-girt plain beyond, hard by
the gleaming marsh, and not 800 yards away, marched
a column of forty elephants.
Hastily we pulled on again the soaking raiment, and
within a few minutes were away. The elephants slowly
filed across the mouth of our valley; then, wheeling
towards us, advanced straight up its centre. Within ten
minutes we were only separated from them by the width
of a marsh, 200 yards across, which, overgrown with
rank green flags, ran down the centre of the strath.
Both my men proved so excitable that I pulled them
down and placed Ali Yama in sole charge. He was cool-
ness itself, and made a masterly approach. We presently
took cover behind a single low bush from the middle of
which grew a mimosa-thorn, and some fifty yards from
the green flags. A steady breeze blew from the vlei
straight up the valley, and remained unchanged through-
out the entire operation.
Upon arriving exactly opposite this point where we
lay watching them, the column of elephants came to a
halt, and for several minutes stood there, evidently in
consultation it hardly seems an exaggeration to say in
" conversation." Then they resumed their course, hold-
ing up the valley ; while we followed, keeping level with
them, on our side the marsh. Presently they halted
again, and, after further conversation, apparently
decided that the former spot was, after all, the more
favourable to effect their passage of the marsh ; for,
wheeling on their tracks, they marched back thither in
column, and presently, with great deliberation, com-
menced to cross to our side. We had meanwhile, for
156
ON SAFARI
half-an-hour, enjoyed magnificent views of the whole
troop, and had made out at least two first-rate bulls,
one in particular riveting my attention by the splendid
SKETCH-MAP OF SOLAI, ILLUSTRATING OPERATION WITH ELEPHANTS.
ivory he carried, and which he was wont to display to
perfection by jaunty tosses of his head.
The point they had selected for their passage
possessed the advantage we noticed this afterwards
of a half-dry islet midway across.
The huge animals took the treacherous bog in
ELEPHANTS 157
column of six abreast, the big bulls in the van, and
their line extending 100 yards to the rear. Surely a
more stirring spectacle in wild-life was never presented
to human eye !
We had, of course, regained our former position,
and now sat squatting behind that tiny bush within a
few yards of the nearest flags. But with that wondrous
scene enacting before our eyes no thought was spared to
considerations either of tactics or of safety.
Obviously the changed course of the elephants, now
advancing directly upon us, had wholly altered the
strategical situation. Beyond a doubt we should, at
this moment, have retreated to some point at which we
should still retain control of operations. By continuing
to hold a false position, we presently lost all freedom
of action and left ourselves to be enveloped, within a
few more seconds, between the masses of advancing
monsters.
Lucky it was that the bulls came first. Had the
prohibited sex headed the column, it is neither pleasant
nor useful to speculate on what might have resulted.
So directly upon our position did the unconscious
elephants advance that, upon landing, the head of. their
column had actually to divide so as to pass our bush,
some on either side. Within a few seconds the leading
bull on my side (the left) towered over our low shelter
not twenty yards ahead. But this first-comer was not
the real monarch of the troop. His tusks, though long,
were thin and ill-formed, crossing in front. The
monster tusker on which my heart was set, I knew,
came second. It had been agreed that I should fire the
first shot ; but at that critical moment, while I waited
an instant longer to get a clear sight of No. 2, my
wretched gun-bearer, Mabruki, . giving way to sheer
" funk," fired my second gun close past my ear-
deafening and, for a time, half-stupefying me. At the
shot, the two great bulls on my front (the nearer being
then fourteen yards off) stopped short, raising their heads
and spreading their huge ears laterally as a barque sets
158 ON SAFARI
stunsails. For six or eight pregnant seconds they stood
still, looking around them with majestic deliberation, and
then . . . slowly turned away.
They had not seen us, simply because we were so
near. As a matter of fact, the elephants, all this time,
had been looking far beyond us over our heads.
By inspiration, during that crucial interval, we all
lay motionless. Then, so soon as the elephants wheeled
to retire, I placed my two barrels ("450, solid) into the big
tusker at twenty-five yards, aiming rather low behind the
shoulder. He staggered and stopped, receiving a third
ball a trifle higher up, when he moved slowly towards
the marsh. Seeing that he had enough, I placed two
more balls in the ribs of the next biggest bull, then
moving three-quarters off, when the two retired by
themselves to the left, presently entering the reeds
alone, beyond the main herd.
My brother meanwhile had devoted all attention to
the other big bull, the second best in the company,
which had passed on his side of the bush, following the
lead of two cows. This grand elephant I now saw sink
stern-first among the green flags, remaining upright,
dead.
The main mass of elephants were now retiring most
deliberately through the bog, on the same track by
which they had advanced ; but my two stricken bulls,
straggling to the left, lagged in the rear of the herd.
We followed on through the flags in pursuit, when a
badly-hit cow elephant, bleeding at mouth and trunk,
turned out on our right, blocking our advance. She
stood, full broadside, in front of "W , who dropped
her with a single shot in the temple. Running past
her, I presently overtook my big bull standing still,
stern on, in the marsh. On finding himself pursued, he
turned on us with cocked ears and upraised trunk ; but
in that treacherous bog he was slow in coming round,
giving time for a careful aim at about seventy yards.
The ball struck close behind the orifice of the ear, and
the champion of the troop was mine. His very death
ELEPHANTS
159
was majestic. He seemed to rise up forward, the curved
trunk held high in the air; then, with slow sidelong
motion, gently collapsed stern-first till he finally fell
over, lying like a dark-red mountain towering over the
green Hags.
Hurrying forward past him with hardly time even
to glance at those glorious tusks and running easily on
"TURNED ON us WITH COCKED EARS AND UPRAISED TRUNK."
a broad causeway of broken-down reeds (while the
elephants plunged and struggled in bog), we soon over-
hauled the second wounded bull. He also, at seventy
yards, turned on us with cocked ears and a shrill shriek.
"Shoot," said Ali, "he's going to charge." But his
end was at hand. A '450 solid knocked him backwards
over passing through the hollow top of one tusk where
embedded in the skull (near the eye). He struggled to
regain his feet when W gave him a finisher, and he
fell with his face to the foe.
Four enormous elephants now lay dead three
behind us, the fourth fifty yards ahead. Of this last,
160
ON SAFARI
however, we found it impossible to take possession,
owing to the aggressive attitude and dangerous temper
now displayed by the main troop, which had ranged up
in solid phalanx just beyond the fallen bull. No sooner
had they regained firm ground than the whole demean-
our of the elephants changed. Instead of retreating
passively, they now faced about in open defiance, formed
in battle array, ready to take the offensive. With trunks
upraised on every side, ears cocked, and a chorus of
"COLLAPSED STERN-FIRST.
explosive grunts varied by shrieks of rage, there was no
mistaking their temper ; and after watching the magni-
ficent scene for a few moments, we decided to retire,
abandoning our last prize to the enemy. There were,
in fact, no more good bulls among the herd ; so we
retreated camp wards to lunch, passing by the three
huge carcasses lying like islands among the reeds.
The affair had occupied probably no more than a
hundred crowded minutes many of these as full as
whole epochs of routine existence ; and the above pages
describe the main facts as such can be put down on
. - .
ELEPHANTS
161
paper. The sensations aroused, though they may be
realised in imagination, cannot be printed so. Nor can
the degree of danger be defined, since the temperament
and conduct of elephants differ. No two need be alike.
These, for example, retired at the crucial moment ; but
in my own former experience on Lake Baringo (p. 68),
a " lone bull " charged at once on scent alone, though
otherwise unmolested ; and instantly repeated the
charge a second time, after being wounded. Here
again, at Solai, only a few weeks before, a fatal accident
had occurred. 1 Beyond all doubt we enjoyed unusual
good fortune in thus encountering our elephants, not
only in broad daylight, a steady breeze, and open
country, but also taken at disadvantage in treacherous
bog. Still there was, following on Mabruki's insane shot
"into the brown," a period of supreme danger, when
for some seconds all our six lives hung in the balance.
Had the elephants then seen us when almost under
1 An Englishman, as related to us, had found and stalked a
single bull elephant, unaware of the presence of six others among
bush on his flank, and to whose view he had thus unwittingly
exposed himself during the stalk. On his firing at the bull, one of
these six at once charged ; and, the repeating mechanism of his rifle
jamming, the poor fellow was straightway caught and killed.
162 ON SAFARI
their trunks nothing could have saved us. Picking
out three bulls from among forty beasts necessarily
involves risk.
The day's bag thus totalled
4 elephants,
1 rhinoceros.
Estimated dead- weight, 25 tons ; actual weight of
ivory brought into camp, 300 Ibs. ; value, say, 200
sterling !
That afternoon and the following day we spent in
measuring and photographing our prizes. Of the four
elephants, one only admitted of accurate dimensions
being taken. This, by good luck, was the biggest bull
of all, which lay fully extended on his broadside the
other three having fallen either upright or in such
positions in the bog, with legs bent or buried beneath
them, that measurements were impossible.
The following figures, taken conjointly with the
photographs herein reproduced, should serve to give
some idea of the size of this giant of the modern world.
ELEPHANT BULL.
ft. in.
Height in straight line (shoulder) -11 1
Length, tip trunk to tip tail
Girth at shoulder
of foreleg at upper part
forefoot.
Ear, horizontal width .
,, vertical height .
24 3
14 10
5 8
4 10
3 8J
5 9}
It should be added that an elephant measuring
11 ft. at withers will probably stand 12 ft, or possibly
13, in front, when aroused and with head erect, as those
two stood before me to-day. Their huge ears, in ad-
dition, each spreading out near 4 ft. laterally, give the
elephant an apparent width of, say, 10 ft., by a height
of 13 ft. ! See frontispiece.
The tusks of my monster bull were a beautifully
symmetrical pair, the longer measuring 7 ft. 1 in., by
ins. in girth. They weighed 137 Ibs. the pair.
BULL ELEPHANT EIGHT YAKDS LONG.
WALTER'S BIG BULL.
ELEPHANTS 163
Length exposed from gum, 4 ft. 7 ins. ; widest distance
apart in curve, 2 ft. 6 ins. ; between tips, 2 ft. 2 ins.
The longer tusk of my brother's big bull measured
6 ft. 2j ins., by 16 ins. girth. This pair weighed 93 Ibs.,
one tusk being broken at the tip ; those of the third
bull 44 Ibs., and of the cow 28 Ibs. : total, 302 Ibs.
With regard to the latter, neither my brother nor
I had shot at an animal of the wrong sex, the bull-
elephants being easily distinguished from cows, even as
seen from astern, by their superior height towering an
apparent fourth over the females. This unfortunate
animal had undoubtedly received her wound in the first
instance from Mabruki 's reckless shot. Grievous to
add, she was followed by a well-grown calf, about
4 ft. high. This we endeavoured to capture, but the
toto proved altogether too big. On our approach, the
determined little beastie (it must have weighed half-a-
ton !) came on in most savage style, cocking his ears
and screaming, till we were fain to leave him alone.
We heard him calling during that night, but by
morning he had gone.
Immediately the shooting was over, I discharged
Mabruki on the spot, taking the rifle from him and
landing him a brace, right-and-left, on his snub nose to
drive the lesson home. Next time I saw him, six weeks
later, he was working in a docker-gang on the wharves
of Mombasa. The punishment seemed severe the fall
from gun-bearer at twenty-five rupees a month to labourer
at six and for a moment I relented ; but second thoughts
clinched the matter. Mabruki was totally disqualified
to act as gun-bearer, and should never have been rated
as such. Already, within two months, his want of
nerve and self-control had twice placed us in jeopardy,
and he should not have the chance of doing the same
to others. Nor should East-African shooting-agents
" sign on " gun-bearers unless they have reasonable
certainty in believing such to be safe and reliable men.
The last view we had of our elephants, they
were slowly retiring northwards through the scattered
164
ON SAFARI
trees that fringed the drier ground, and with the
same majestic deliberation and coolness that they had
displayed throughout the encounter ; while beyond them,
above the tall green flags of the vlei, we descried the
ADIEU !
backs of a second herd slowly moving towards the east.
We regretted afterwards that we neglected to take any
steps to ascertain which way they finally went, for
heavy rains soon obliterated the trail. But in that
moment of supreme triumph we were perhaps too ex-
hilarated in a state of mental intoxication after those
deep draughts of excitement and success.
CHAPTER XIV
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLA!
CHANCE OR SKILL ?
THE operation of extracting the tusks from the
massive rocky cranium of an elephant can be effected
in two ways. The more expeditious method is to hew
them out with hatchets ; but this necessarily involves
some injury to the ivory, one-third of which is embedded
in the bone. By allowing three or four days to elapse,
decomposition will have loosened the hold and the teeth
can then be drawn out.
Being in no special hurry, we elected to await the
latter result, the more readily as we found ourselves in
a lovely situation, commanding within reach of our
camp both wood and water, mountain, marsh and plain.
We decided to spend a week exploring our environment
and its wild life.
This decision caused general joy among our men,
who were gorging on elephant-meat. Strangely, they
preferred the internals, and had driven a " drift " like
a mine-shaft through the ribs, thereby entering bodily
into the interior and excavating the coveted titbits.
We had thought of experimenting on the trunk our-
selves, till informed that only after forty-eight hours'
cooking would the meat be soft enough to cut with a
hatchet. We contented ourselves with the undercut of
hartebeest and cutlets from some delicious little stein-
bucks and oribi that W had shot on the hill.
On one of these days I was specially pleased to
secure a fine cock ostrich, breaking the thigh at 200
yards thus killing the biggest bird on earth and the
165
166 ON SAFAKI
biggest beast within a short league of each other !
We also observed ostrich-poults, half-grown.
Another day, however, was memorable for shattering
to atoms any complacent sentiment of self-assurance that
success only follows on deserts, or that achievements are
always proportioned to skill, perseverance, or other
personal qualities. Those who exclude the element of
chance from their creed may be interested in some notes
from that day's experience. So far as the writer can
remember, they stand unique in over forty years
of shooting-life.
It was a dull misty dawn, with a wet haze hanging
over the marshes, whence resounded the sonorous cries
of the great Kavirondo cranes, while all around our camp
the bush was alive with the matutinal chorus of doves and
francolins and the cackle of guinea-fowl in the thorny-
scrub above. Telling my brother I intended to shoot an
eland, I set out with my gun-bearers in the half-light.
We ascended the hill behind our camp, and were walking
in single file towards the west when I espied close ahead
a waterbuck bull (defassa) feeding in an open glade
surrounded by bush. Strangely, with three pairs of
keen eyes on the look-out, none had detected him in
time ; for before the rifle could be handed, the big buck,
though unalarmed, had moved forward out of sight, still
feeding. Eventually the shot was one of those, in bush,
at " horns only," with a conjectural body beneath that
may be standing in any conceivable relation thereto ;
the distance also was much greater, and the result a miss.
The direction of the spoor coinciding with our intended
route, we followed on ; but presently coming on the crest
of a sudden escarpment, sighted four hartebeest on the
plain far below. After a detour, I got a steady lying shot,
and the best of the four (300 yards away and 200 feet
below) dropped and lay motionless. It cost us half-an-
hour finding a way down those crags, and then . . . that
bull was gone ! Neither spoor nor blood served us on
such ground half rock, half bush ; and we saw him no
more. Holding our course, we shortly viewed what we
\V AND DEAD ELEPHANT.
M. E. C., Photo., at ffouxty.
ELEPHANTS EAR.
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI 167
judged to be the missed waterbuck, a mile ahead and on
the right shoulder of a gentle pass, or depression in the
foreground, which at that point dipped sharply away to
lower levels beyond.
On reaching our marks, where the view broadened
out on either side, we could see nothing of our water-
WATERBUCK BULL.
buck, though feeling sure he was somewhere on our right
and not far away. While spying, a hartebeest bull with
fine head showed up on the left, and a shot at the neck
dropped him my hope in thus firing being to secure
the supposed waterbuck with the second barrel. There
ensued a crash among the bush on the right, and far
away the expected animal appeared, halting to gaze,
full broadside, as he gained the open. Salim tried to
take the smaller rifle ('303) from me and handed me the
'450. His reason I did not follow ; for at the long
168
ON SAFARI
range (350 to 400 yards) my eyesight had failed to
recognise that this was no waterbuck after all, but a
grand old eland bull ! The '303 bullet struck with
the sounding " clap " that usually signifies a good hit ;
the eland plunged forward, staggering almost to earth,
but recovering, carried on towards the plain below. The
ELAND BULL.
line he took, however, viewed in relation to the con-
figuration of the mountain-barrier ahead, suggested the
idea that we might, by very hard running, cut him out
that is, we could take the chord while he ran the arc
of a circle.
There was not a moment to spare not a second to
recover our poor crippled hartebeest : a cruel exigency
drove us to leave that splendid animal a prey for
vultures and hyenas.
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI 169
Half-an-liour of the hardest going and we had reached
our point alas ! too late. The spoor, crossing a shallow
pool, showed where the quarry had passed but a minute
before, for on hurrying forward, we caught one glimpse
of his bulky form disappearing round a bluff ahead.
Having heard the impact of the ball so distinctly,
and having two excellent trackers (Salim and Kenana),
I had every confidence in recovering this grand prize ;
a promise of good backsheesh further stimulated the
men, and for three long hours we held the spoor forward,
the trackers backing each other beautifully on either
flank at each slight check. We were, however, rarely
in difficulty, and indeed had made good at least six
miles without a sign of the stricken beast ahead, nor
had he once laid down.
Towards noon, while passing outside a great conch-
shaped recess scooped out of the impending mountain-
side above, a sudden snort brought us up, and from
some high bush fifty yards ahead there protruded the
ugly armed snout of a rhinoceros. The wind was right
and he had evidently not seen us, for his head turned
to and fro, gazing ; so I gently brought my glass to
bear. He carried a good head, the two horns being
more even in length than in my previous specimen at
Klmenteita. Motioning to Salim, he handed me the
'450, arid with it (thoughtfully) a couple of "solid"
cartridges, one of which I directed to the junction of neck
and shoulders, though, owing to intervening bush, I
could hardly see so far back. The shot was followed by
heavy and continuous crashing among the brushwood
presumably the death-flurry ; but we were soon un-
deceived on that point, when two rhino dashed out
straight ahead and at full gallop made direct for where
we stood in the open. A couple of yards to the left
was a thin burnt bush, a mere skeleton, behind which
we jumped, and five seconds later the pair (which I now
saw were a big cow with long thin horn, and a three-
parts-grown calf) passed where we had a moment before
been standing, but without seeing us, though so near.
170 ON SAFARI
At the same moment I saw there was another pair, both
big brutes, crashing through the thicker bush on our
left, some thirty yards away, while beyond them was
yet another rhino on the inner slope of the couch
aforesaid. This last, however, displayed a totally
different demeanour. He was either overwhelmed with
rage or convulsed by some violent emotion ; for he ran
hither and thither, rearing up forward, snorting and
grunting, and presently reached the sky-line, where he
presented a picture of fury spoiling for a fight, wheeling-
round in every direction and with his stump of a tail
stuck vertically upright.
Meanwhile, I had necessarily kept an eye on the
first pair, lest after passing us so near they should have
got our wind ; but after a single halt about a hundred
yards away, to my infinite relief, they held their course
along the valley.
Salim at this point called my attention to yet
another rhino the sixth standing quite motionless in
full outline on the ridge ahead, but further away, say
200 yards.
Concluding that the enraged rhino on the ridge to
our left must be the wounded animal, we proceeded
with due caution in his direction so soon, that is, as
the second pair, which had passed between us and him,
had got sufficiently far to leeward to leave us a safe
road. We had already arrived within sixty yards or so
rather too far to make sure, as the beast still kept
constantly on the move, snorting, rearing and wheeling
when we lost sight, and hurrying to the crest the
rhino was nowhere in view : nor was there blood on the
spoor. That, however, with pachyderms, is not con-
clusive. An ordinary body- wound is rapidly closed by
their solid hides, and no blood is given. Of course,
should the lungs be injured, the animal bleeds from the
mouth.
To make perfectly certain that a rhino had not
fallen dead to the shot, we returned to the original spot,
but found nothing there. We then put in another hour
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI
171
on the eland's spoor, passing on our way the sixth rhino,
still quiescent on his ridge and attended by numerous
tick-birds. The eland now led us upwards and west-
wards, on to open veld where we could see for miles
stretching away towards the Molo River, and as nothing
was in sight, after four hours' spooring, we were reluct-
antly obliged to abandon that quest as quite beyond
hope.
SPOILING FOR A FIGHT" (RHINO).
It was now nearly two o'clock. In five shots that day
I had Mounded four of the finest game-beasts in Africa,
and had not got one of them. I concluded it -was
Kismet, and sat down to lunch on biscuits and cold tea
while reflecting on the extraordinary events that had
just occurred. What was their inner history? What
strange frenzy had possessed them, to set all those
rhinos charging madly down-wind? Wild animals
seeking safety in flight, invariably point their noses into
the wind ; that is their safeguard. Naturally one had
172 ON SAFARI
concluded, on first seeing their wild rush direct upon us,
that they were deliberately charging to the shot to the
spot whence the sound had come presumably to exact
retribution. But their never stopping, their holding
that wild career afar, negatived any such solution.
'Twas better so ; but it leaves their precise motive, their
line of reasoning, a mystery.
Determined to risk no more "regrettable incidents''
that day, we set out direct for camp ; but finding that
the spoor of the angry rhino led in the same direction,
as a mere matter of duty we followed on it, though I
had lost all faith in my star.
Salim presently stopped, pointing ahead, and I saw
among sere grass, 150 yards away, something that
appeared yellow. Both my men declared this to be the
wounded rhino, lying down. I felt convinced they
were mistaken, though rhinos certainly do take extra-
ordinary colours, dependent on the nature of the mud
in their latest wallow. We had crept in to 100 yards
when something like a big paw slowly stretched
heavenwards, then disappeared. " Lion ? " I said, but
both men persisted in their former verdict. Now it was
perfectly open prairie all round, devoid of shelter or
refuge of any kind, and in such ground it would be
unwise to "walk-up" a wounded rhino especially
such an evil- tempered beast as that we had just been
watching, though one need not hesitate to take-on a
lion so. While firmly of opinion that the yellow object
ahead was a lion asleep, I, this luckless day, allowed
myself to be overruled by the two hunters, who (with
their keener, savage eyesight) were equally positive that
it was the rhino indeed, Salim even explained how the
beast was lying.
It was Kismet once more. On firing (aiming, as for
a rhino, rather low), up sprang a lioness, and within
three bounds disappeared in a dip, while all around the
veld was full of bouncing lion-cubs as big as setters-
six or seven of them, the men declared. The whole
family had been lying asleep in the grass, and, had
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI 173
we crept in, they might have been approached within
fifteen yards though fifty would have been near
enough.
By way of concluding this unbroken record of
catastrophe, it may be added that a few weeks later I
was informed by the Hon. Cyril Ward that he had come
across, on the Molo River, a newly-killed rhinoceros
corresponding in description to the above, and a couple
of days later than the events here described. The
distance between the two points would be some ten or
twelve miles.
During the campward march, querulous, despondent
thought was deflected into new channels by a curious
incident. Afar on the veld- fluttered some white object.
Thinking it might be a signal placed by my brother direct-
ing us to a message from him a back-veld post-office
I rode thither. It proved to be the landmark of a new
farm-boundary ! Even these remote wilds were being
bought up by enterprising settlers. In a few years,
presumptively, cattle and sheep will have displaced the
lion, the rhino and the eland. Such is British progress,
and it is right. At home under "Free Trade"- be it
for better or for worse success in pastoral or agri-
cultural pursuits has long been impossible ; such oc-
cupations were deliberately sacrificed generations ago,
to the interest of manufactures and cognate industries.
At home so long as our islands remain the workshop
of the world the artisan and mechanic may flourish :
the farmer and flock-master never. Whether these
latter can profitably be translated to equatorial uplands,
time and hard experience alone will show. The energy
and enterprise are not lacking, as this incident tends to
show ; but Equatoria presents problems, and perhaps
difficulties, which differ fundamentally from those of
Canada or the Antipodes. May they prove soluble !
The converse a naturalist may be allowed to regret,
namely, that when British flock-masters shall have
settled-up the African veld, we cannot also translate
the displaced elephants and rhinos, the lions, antelopes
174 ON SAFARI
and the rest, to wander on the depopulated hills of
England.
As a fitting finale to this, the most luckless day of a
lifetime, there followed a nightmare. During the small
hours there occurred in dreams an attack on our camp
by yelling Masai, whose assegais came hurtling through
the canvas walls and stuck quivering in the earth
around. On awakening I found myself sprawling on the
ground-sheet, seeking for a gun. W had reported
seeing during the day some Masai cattle by the lake-
side. Their presence there had puzzled us, as all the
Masai should now be in the " Reserve," fifty miles away.
Hence these woes.
BUSH-SHRIKE (Dryoscopus wiulensis) Ibis, 1901.
CHAPTER XV
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI (Concluded)
WATERBUCK, WILD-DOGS, WART-HOG AND RHINOS
(RETURN TO NAKURU)
THE following is a note from my brother's diary
" A special object with me was to procure a good
example of the sing-sing waterbuck, small herds of which
we had observed feeding both at dawn and dusk on the
grassy Hats far away beyond the marsh. These ante-
lopes, however, are not seen by day, retiring then into
the thicker bush.
" Shortly after daybreak, we marked a herd of eight,
including one fine bull, which, it seemed, might be
stalked from within the cover of the marsh itself this
being embowered amidst miles of waving rush. This
operation we proceeded to carry out, but promptly encoun-
tered unforeseen difficulty. For this bog was over knee-
deep in clinging mire, overgrown with dense marsh-plants,
flags and papyrus, and intercepted with trailers that
entangled every step. Moreover, a herd of elephants
had recently lingered therein, leaving cavernous footprints
half-a-yard in depth and filled with a compound that it
would be an injustice to filthy water to describe as
such.
" After half-an-hour of these joys, we descried, above
the bobbing bulrushes ahead, the tips of those coveted
horns. But while trying to secure a better view, despite
all our care, the animals took alarm, moved away, and
finally offered but a long and difficult shot which produced
no result.
" Rejoicing at least to escape from the mephitic
175
176
ON SAFARI
morass, we eagerly plunged sliorewarcls, mired up to the
eyes, but looking forward to a few moments' rest on terra
firma ere resuming the chase. But that was not to be
'our lot. Hardly had we cleared this purgatory than we
found ourselves surrounded by a pack of hunting-dogs
that kept bounding up among the bushes on every side.
I tried my very hardest to kill one, but they were not
easy to hit, so rapidly did they appear and disappear
among the covert. Three or four shots produced no
visible effect, though, even ha.i one or more dogs been
SA
A PACK OF WILD-DOGS.
killed, they would necessarily have dropped below our
sight.
" Presently a big black-and-tan dog, coming out on an
open, reared upright to see what was going on, and
received a bullet in the head that dropped him ' all of a
heap.' On running forward to the kill which involved
a long detour and finally plunging waist-deep through a
channel of black mire we observed another of the pack
limping away with a broken leg.
"Following on the spoor, which was easily held on
more open ground beyond, we had just entered some
thin wood, when Ali touched my shoulder, pointing
forward through the trees. There, cantering back
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI 177
directly towards us, came our eight waterbuck ! Sinking
behind a friendly boulder, we watched them come with
frequent halts, standing to gaze back over their shoulders.
It was obvious that they had been startled by the
retreating wild-dogs, and, luckily for us, in the presence
of this new danger they had forgotten the old. For
they were quite unsuspicious of our proximity, and all
attention was concentrated on their rear, whence they
clearly feared attack. A memorable picture they pre-
sented as they trotted past close below, the bull leading
a true monarch, majestic in massive form and stately
carriage. It was, however, downright bad luck for him
to find a foe at each end of the trail, and a bullet on the
shoulder ended his career.
" Though I had never before seen hunting-dogs
(Lycaon pictus] in life, yet I instinctively recognised
what these brutes were, partly by their half-white
brushes flashing over the scrub as they puzzled out the
scent, apparently interested rather than alarmed at our
intrusion."
The photo overleaf shows the big dog above men-
tioned, a fine adult, clean in fur, and with none of the
mange that often disfigures these animals.
Besides waterbuck and ostriches, there were also
around Lake Solai a few Jackson's hartebeests, and the
marsh swarmed with the East- African Bohor reedbuck
(Cervicapra wardi). One day, riding together round
the vlei, we were directed by the vultures to a good
male specimen of this latter which had been killed the
night before (as the pugs showed) by a leopard. On the
hills above we shot steinbuck, oribi, klipsp ringer and
wart-hog.
Every morning at dawn we had sent out scouts
in different directions to report on what game they could
discover and especially to locate a good rhino bull ;
but no satisfactory information was forthcoming by such
means. One day we had together explored a long rock-
girt valley that penetrated the hills towards the north-
178 ON SAFARI
west, without seeing anything beyond the usual game
a few zebras, ostriches, gazelles, and some klipspringers
on the crags when about ten o'clock we sat down
beneath a mimosa and sent our gun-bearers over the
rocky range on the west to investigate what lay beyond.
Presently to us smoking in the shade they reported
three rhinos in the valley beyond, and having scaled this
ridge we verified the fact for ourselves, the rhinos looking
absolutely pure white (owing to the calcareous mud they
had last wallowed in). They were a couple of miles
away, down the wind, and moving further in that
direction involving a long detour. The wind, more-
over, was shifty and treacherous, so that many changes
in tactics became necessary before we gained a command-
ing position.
The scene of operations was a flat-floored valley two
miles across, walled-in by low abrupt hills and over-
grown with thin open forest, mostly thorns. Beneath
a group of these shady, flat-topped mimosas two of
the rhinos had, during our long manoeuvres with the
wind, drawn up to spend their midday siesta. The
third we could not see, but knew he was in the bush
somewhere near by.
The feature of this stalk was the extraordinary
callousness to threatening danger, and its manifold signs,
displayed by those two great pachyderms. Owing to
the constantly-varying wind, puffs of which came from
opposite airts within a few seconds of each other, we had
twice unwittingly given alarm to some groups of harte-
beests and gazelles 1 that happened to fall under our lee.
On one of these occasions several antelopes galloped past
within a comparatively short distance of the sleepy mon-
sters, but without arousing their suspicion. Then, during
the final approach, when we were already close in, a band
of shrieking plovers (Stephanibyx melanopterus] the
1 These gazelles were all G. granti, except a single example of
G. t/iomsoni the only one seen at Solai, which clearly lies north
of their range, though they are abundant a dozen miles to the
southward.
WILD DOG WITH TWO SPOTTED IIYEXAS.
. de la Scala, Photo.
KHIXO. FROM LIFE.
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI
179
nosiest bird in Africa sprang from an intervening
marshy patch, rending the air with shrillest and most
persistent vociferations. All Nature seemed to join
in common warning, yet no heed did those rhinos
take.
They stood side by side, the nearer beast (which was
the larger of the two) covering the head, neck and part-
"-
SLEEPING BEAUTIES.
shoulder of the one beyond, while the trunk of the
sheltering mimosa concealed from view both the central
pairs of legs conveying an absurd appearance of but a
single animal, and that about eight yards long ! We
had crawled in to a thin tree about fifty yards away, and
W- , who fired first, placed his ball on the shoulder of
the nearer beast, while I, instantly thereafter, directed
mine as far forward as was visible of his companion. At
the shots, both rhinos whipped round, with snorts and
amazing agility, and for several seconds, being at such
180
ON SAFAEI
very close quarters, matters became lively enough till
another shot dropped the bull with a broken hind-leg.
The cow-rhino meanwhile made a determined dash
as though to get round under our wind, circling back on
the left at a ponderous gallop, and hidden by intervening
bush and clumps of tall grass. She, however, gave the
situation away by her snorting and the crashing of brush-
wood. Kunning in that direction, I got a momentary
glimpse of her between two tall grass-clumps, looking
'THOROUGHLY NASTY.
thoroughly nasty, with head carried high and tail stand-
ing erect. So threatening appeared this rush that (as
she was already within short distance of the wind) it
was necessary to take some risks, and at the next opening
in the bush I gave her a quick shot which fortunately
sent her headlong to earth. The *450-solid struck the
top of the shoulder, smashing the spine, and she dropped
in an upright position. The two rhinos lay dead within
some eighty yards of each other.
The third rhino, which, though nearly full-grown,
was probably the produce of this pair, showed up outside
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI 181
the bush beyond ; but after beginning an offensive demon-
stration, we were glad to see retired whence he came.
The two rhinos carried blunt massive horns, measuring
around the base, No. 1, 18 ins. (front), 17^ ins. (hind),
and, No. 2, 18 ins. each respectively, the lengths being
15 and 14j ins.
We suffered much inconvenience and discomfort at
this period from heavy thunderstorms, which deluged
our camp every afternoon ; while owing to its marshy
environment, it was infested by swarms of jumping frogs,
which even invaded our tents. At night the display of
electric flash-lights in the heavens was often superb.
Loading up our ivory, skins and other trophies, we
struck camp and left Sola! on March 1, holding for the
Alabanyata, and securing a good female of B. jacksoni,
with 16-in. head, on the march. On the river named
we found General Baden-Powell encamped, and now learnt
(to our regret) that it was to the defender of Mafeking
that we had unwittingly showed a " clean pair of heels "
on the night of the 23rd (p. 152-3). The General rode
up as we were off-skinning a grand bull of Neumann's
hartebeest, carrying 19-in. horns, that \V- - had just
shot from the track. The bullet had entered the eye at
a very long range, and we were rather surprised when
we noticed its species, further west than we had expected
to find it.
Riding on together, we presently began to notice,
far ahead, large troops of zebras, many hundreds in all,
steadily moving up the valley towards us. None
having been observed here on our way up ten days
before, this was evidently a migratory movement in
progress. There were also several kongoni in sight, and
" B.-P." presently went after three big bulls on our left.
An hour or so later, a retrograde movement among the
troops of advancing zebras attracted my attention.
Several herds were galloping wildly back in the direction
whence they had come. Thinking that it might possibly
be a lion that had thus thrown them back in confusion,
182
ON SAFARI
I brought my glass to bear : and there, apparently in the
midst of the flying zebras, rode the General, who had
thus utilised those animals to screen an advance on his
three kongoni. It was a clever manoeuvre, and he well
deserved the splen-
did 23j-in. head
of Biibcdis jacksoni
that it produced.
Note that at
this point that is,
due north of the
crater of Meriingai
the range of these
two species of harte-
beest overlaps. We
had, as stated, that
morning obtained
an example of Neu-
mann's hartebeest
(which we had
hitherto only found
to the east of Na-
kuru) a
more to
ward of the spot,
near Costello's
Shamba, where this
Jackson's hartebeest
was slain.
This veld is frequented by wart-hogs in considerable
numbers. One day as we rode along together, a big
solitary boar was observed to disappear in a patch of
grass. This grass, on nearer approach, was seen to be
of no great extent, perhaps a couple of acres. 31 y
brother, accordingly, went round to the leeward, while,
with a couple of " boys," I rode through the covert
from above. Presently the boar broke away with a rush
from under my pony's feet, snorting and grunting. It
took the desired direction, and dropping to the shot, lay
league or
the west-
BRINGING HOME THE IVORY.
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI 183
apparently dead. As we approached, however, from
converging directions, the pig suddenly sprang to his
feet and charged on W- , who was within a dozen
yards. A shot in the nape terminated this gallant
effort. As a rule, the wart-hog, with all his formidable
armament, seems less apt to take the offensive than his
European cousin. One of these animals, shot by my
brother, was entirely devoid of the usual warts on the
lower face, while the set of the tusks was upright.
W- - crossed over the rugged shoulder of Meningai
in one more effort to secure the elusive Chanler's
reedbuck, but again these grey phantoms kept their
skins intact.
One day, being near the western summit, we went
to look into the crater of Meningai, and an appalling
abyss it is perhaps as big a hole as exists in the crust
of our planet. A few hundred yards below the external
lip there is a lower rim, and having descended to this,
we could look clown into the full depth of the chasm,
apparently 2,000 or 3,000 ft. The width may be
perhaps three miles across, and the sides slope inwards
and downwards as regularly as a funnel, the lower depths
apparently tree-clad and bushy.
We attempted to descend, being at first deceived by
the apparent simplicity of the undertaking. Not for
long, however, were we left in doubt. It was the dis-
tance that had hidden the terrible rugosity of its depths
from view depths that are practically impenetrable.
But we little dreamed (as we have since been posi-
tively assured by men who do not lightly accept fabled
tales) that that vast abyss is still one of Nature's own
sanctuaries. Elephants descend its depths to breed
therein, rhinos take their ease amidst subterranean
bush, while lions occupy its many inaccessible strong-
holds. Men, it is said, had descended and been lost
probably eaten ! Such, we were told, is the crater of
Meningai.
That evening at Nakuru we enjoyed an odd experi-
ence an incident perhaps unique in the process of
184 ON SAFARI
colonising even such savage remnants of mother-earth
as British East Africa. We were dining at the Dak
bungalow, when two squatters "new chums"- came
in and joined us. They had, so they informed us,
walked in from a " farm " they were holding some
twelve miles out that is (if we understood aright), they
were, and had been for a fortnight, " personally occupy-
ing," within the meaning of the Act, a stretch of land
that had been allotted to an absent buyer. Let us hope
that that absentee was not a land -speculator, a species
which, in these new colonies, should be absolutely
debarred from taking root. Well, the first yarn these
two new chums told us, with self-evident veracity, was
that during their march-in some object lying on a
hillock had attracted their attention. On cautiously
approaching this, they had discovered from an adjoining
bluff that the mysterious object was a lion, asleep, and
not over forty yards distant a sort of " soft chance "
that systematic hunters travel hundreds of miles, often
in vain search, to fall in with. Our friends, however,
after full consultation, decided to withdraw, not being
sure of their weapons. " Will a Snider kill a lion ? " was
their question the answer to which could only depend
upon the man behind the Snider. Probably their prudent
decision was justifiable.
During dinner one of the pair, a big powerful young
fellow " fra' Glasgie," rather amused us by a woebegone
description of his life on the veld, and of the miseries
he had endured from the nightly serenade of wild beasts.
They had no house, only a tent : and not once, according
to his account, had he dared during a whole fortnight
to close an eye. For a time, naturally, we thought he
was romancing making a good story of it but soon
enough the vividness of his complaints brought home to
us all the state of abject funk to which he had brought
himself. As his partner tersely put it, " The fear of death
was on the man."
We were, nevertheless, surprised enough the next
morning when his pal (Lindsay) came along to our camp
HUNTING ON LAKE SOLAI
185
and reported that the poor wretch had bolted gone
coast wards by the midnight train, leaving in the lurch
his partner, his engagements, everything ! With a huge
frame and a tenor voice, but the heart of a mouse, he had
evidently concluded within himself that he wasn't the
man for Africa, and there he was right.
WHYDAH-FINCHES (Fenthetrict ardens}.
CHAPTER XVI
THE MAU FOKEST
AFTER BUFFALO AT KISHOBO
TRAVELLERS on the U.K. enjoy glimpses of equa-
torial forest when, on passing Limoru, the line takes
that headlong plunge of 1,200 ft. down the escarp-
ment into the Rift Valley. Then, after traversing the
"Equatorial Trench" by Naivasha, Elmenteita and
Nakuru, on the opposite side there begins the other
forest-region that of the Mau.
None can view these forests, even cursorily from a
carriage- window, without amazement such is the
density of their growth, aloft and alow. At home,
heavy evergreen foliage above stunts, if it does not
kill, plant-life beneath. Here both forms flourish, tier
above tier, such is the exuberant vitality of the
tropics.
But it may be asked, How can animal-life exist
amidst matted viewless jungle, and how can hunter
penetrate ? The hunter cannot penetrate saving only
in limited and laborious degree ; while game do not
abide therein, except specialised forms such as the yet
unknown forest-hog (Hylochoerus], said to stand four
feet in height, and the almost unknown bongo (Boocercus
euryceros) neither yet shot by white man. 1
The Mau forests are, nevertheless, a chief stronghold
of the East- African buffalo. These, however, live, not
in the forest-depths though they utilise them for
shelter and refuge by day but upon the " opens " that
1 See subsequent notes on this subject in Chapter XXIV.
186
THE MAU FOREST 187
characterise the densest and most gloomy jungles, as it
is the purpose of this chapter to explain.
Buffalo we had not originally included in our pro-
gramme, having already fair specimens from the Pung-
wee River, but decided on devoting a week or two to
the Mau forest, where Lord Hindlip had kindly promised
to lay us on.
On March 5 we encamped at Kishobo, another
"World's View," standing at 7,000 ft., and overlooking
spacious panorama of tropical woodland, waste and wild.
In the foreground, apparently close by, though twelve
miles away, glisten the waters of beautiful Lake Nakuru,
nestling beneath the sombre crater of Meningai ; while,
far beyond, to the north and east, the great Cordilleras
of Laikipia and Kamasea pierce the heavens. South and
west all is forest, forest, forest.
Readers of A Lodge in the Wilderness will recall
Musuru, situate in fancy on this same Mau highland.
There world-politics in their broader plane were eluci-
dated ; here we viewed a more practical stage the first
stage the rough-hewing, the tearing by violence from
savage nature of that dominion allotted to man to
o
188 ON SAFARI
those men, at least, who can seize it. In East Africa
one sees forest and jungle assailed, torn from their
age-long sleep, and replaced by stock-farm and grazing,
with ordered rows of byres and dairies, tillage and
paddock. Such detail passes my own knowledge ; but
it interested to watch a peer of the realm (and a
peeress too) wrestle in handgrips with a fearsome re-
volving machine I forget its name, but it produced
butter. This by way of half-an-hour's relaxation before
dinner.
Surely there are thousands in the Mother islands to
whom a strenuous life in the Greater Britain over-
seas, whatever its risks or prospects, is preferable to
dancing constant attendance on poverty and " unem-
ployment" at home, where our rulers, blinding their
eyes to plainest signs of world-progress, are content to
truckle to sordid " Trades-unions " and such-like (because
these control millions of mechanical votes), and elect to
follow a mob instead of to lead an empire. " Wake up,
England," before the awakening comes from without.
Southward from Kishobo commences a forest-region
that extends into the Sotik country, four or five days'
inarch, and I know not how much beyond. This, we
understood, was a haunt of buffalo ; nor were we mis-
informed, for hardly had daylight broken than I was on
burning spoor. These buffaloes there were three of
them were less than half-an-hour ahead, as evidenced
by sign."
The spot was one of those " forest-opens " that
characterise this region about 100 acres of short sweet
grass walled-in by densest timber. Into this timber led
the trail. It could not go elsewhere, and our eyes told
us there was no game outside. Not knowing myself
intimately the ways of buffalo, I had misgivings as to
the safety of following close upon their heels into view-
less thicket. Not so my companion, a Somali hunter
lent me by Lord Hindlip. He treated buffalo as we
might rabbits, and, reassured by his total indifference,
I followed in. The beasts had not gone far. All they
THE MAU FOREST 189
sought, apparently, was shelter from the sun ; for within
200 yards they were lying asleep. Even that short
crawl involved unspeakable labour ; but presently I
heard stertorous breathing and low grunts apparently
not ten yards ahead. It was then that the misgivings
alluded to arose in my mind ; but my black companion
coolly continued to peer and spy into the mural foliage
before us. Another yard or two we crawled forward,
prone beneath interlacing boughs and brambles, then
slowly raised ourselves behind a sheltering trunk. Still
we saw nothing. But the buffaloes either saw, smelt or
heard us, for there ensued a mighty crash, a bushy tail
whirled aloft, there was one glimpse of a broad black
stern, the curve of a huge horn and they were gone.
They did not go far, for four times that morning we
overhauled them, each time with a similar result or
worse. For never again, though always close up, did I
get even so slight a view as on that first approach
and then it was little more than merely a vanishing
tail-piece.
The idea in thus persistently following was the off-
chance of finding the game, sooner or later, in more
favourable position that is, being interpreted, that we
might see through some lucky crevice in the cavernous
foliage sufficient black hide (necessarily almost within
arm's length, since we could see no further) to enable
aim to be taken.
We had, as stated, "jumped" buffalo four times.
On the first three occasions they were the original trio ;
but the last was a single lone bull whose spoor we had
cut, and to whom we had transferred attention. Him
we followed till noon, and never in my life have I
traversed such jungle or undergone more cruel labour.
Words are but wasted in attempting to describe the alter-
nations of crawling, climbing, wriggling and struggling
through, over, or under thorny brakes.
Wherever light could penetrate, the bracken grew to
ten feet in height (measured). The new growth, now
coming, was about three feet.
190
ON SAFARI
My brother's experience was similar. The forest, by
day, was clearly impossible.
One evening, while yet clear daylight reigned, six
buffalo emerged from the forest and were feeding in an
" open." We felt that at last our chance had come, and
A HORNBILL OF THE MAU FOREST.
got well in, but alas ! all were cows. At dusk we heard
another within the bush-wall, and reached a spot to
command his exit ; but ere he appeared half-an-hour
later, at 100 yards, heavy clouds, with solid rain, had
obscured the slight moon, and we could not see to
shoot.
Obviously these forest-opens afforded our only
chance. They varied in size from mere pastures of 100
THE MAU FOREST 191
acres to extensive glades, but everywhere walled-in solid
no interval of scattered trees fringed them. The
game never entered these opens till after dark, and
quitted them before a sign of dawn had appeared. The
alternative was to try by full moonlight, and as that
period was due within a few days, we utilised the
interval by a journey towards the Sotik country.
This is a region of wondrous virgin wood ; but
impressions of these Central-African forests can hardly
be conveyed in words, though Stanley and other vivid
writers have described them. It is the sense that one
feels rather than actually sees, since all beyond the
narrowest limit is shut out from view by tier upon tier
of overarching foliage, pendent, prehensile, parasitic, and
upright. Hard by rise the bolls of colossal cedars, 1 half
hidden amid enveloping evergreens and lianas ; yet their
summits, 200 ft. above, are away in another world a
world of sunshine and blue sky beyond our view. Below,
all one 'sees in a half-light is a few yards of the bases,
soon to lose themselves, like pillars of the Mezquita, in
the vaulted roof overhead.
Hour after hour one rides through these forest-aisles
overarched with leafage, dark and eerie as some cathe-
dral crypt, while the rarefied air chills to the marrow,
and the altitude, moreover (8,000 ft), renders breathing
oppressive to man and beast alike. In gloomy recesses,
shut out for ever from the sun, grow ferns much as one
sees at home bracken and blechnum, polypody, parsley-
fern and others; besides brambles, ramps, primroses,
thistles and stinging-nettles.
There are moister dells where cedars and forest-trees
give place to dense growth of bamboos of such giant
dimensions that even their summits pass beyond our view,
towering up probably eighty feet or more. The grey
tree-moss, " old-man's beard," hangs in pendent festoons,
while an incessant siss-siss-siss of infinite insects and the
1 Though they are called cedars, and their wood is reddish and of
the same sweet resinous smell as cedar, yet I believe these big trees
really belong to the Juniper family.
192
ON SAFARI
croaking of arboreal reptiles runs on like a lullaby.
Brilliant butterflies flit in sunny glades, but in the
forest there is little other sign of life. We saw no
game therein, save a chance bushbuck and the spoor
TRUMPETER HORXBILL.
of very large pig. These, our men assured us, carried no
tusks. Of the bongo we saw not a sign.
Although unseen, we were, however, conscious, by a
recurrent ringing clamour, that there existed living
creatures high above practically in another world.
These strident outcries we at first attributed to eagles,
perhaps correctly. But presently we realised that other
feathered neighbours, hardly inferior in size, dwelt over-
THE MAU FOREST
193
head. These were huge black hornbills. Merely fleet-
ing and momentary were the glimpses we could get with
a spyglass ; but, such as these were (and the idea was
confirmed by those clarion notes), we concluded that
these were the great trumpeter hornbill (Bycanistes
A HORNBILL OF SOTIK.
buccinator), whose portrait is roughly portrayed opposite.
Whatever they were, these hornbills were numerous
enough in the dense forest. A few days later, in some
rather more open country towards Sotik, we enjoyed
a better view of quite another hornbill, which sat on
a dry branch plunged in reverie. In this case the
" casque " was not a semi-separated superstructure, so
194 ON SAFARI
to speak ; but rather the reduplication of a beak
already grotesquely exaggerated as shown on previous
page.
In the Sotik country we also observed many of
the smaller kind of hornbill (Lophocerus), as well
as crimson-winged touracos, dark-olive wood-pigeons
(Columba arquatrix), bush-shrikes (Dryoscopus), black
A TOUBACO OF SOTIK (Gallirex chlorochlamys).
The Zambesi purple-crested loury.
flycatchers with pure white breasts, and a few other
species quite unknown to me.
To return to the denser forest. Among the few
small birds that enliven these solitudes, several were
obviously tits their climbing and prehensile habit and
incessant activity assured that identification. But many
of these were almost black in hue as befitted the gloom
of this under- world. Their colour-scheme suggested an
adaptation to environment ; but that view is not borne
out by further examination. For the characteristic, it
appears, is common to several of the African ParidcB
whose haunts are not confined to the darkness of the
tropical forest.
We were disappointed in seeing nothing of the
THE MAU FOREST 195
beautiful black-and-white Guereza monkey (Colobus)
in these forests. The only sign of its existence met
with was a skin brought me by a Swahili on the
Molo.
One night we encamped on an " open " where just
previously Lord Hindlip had shot a buffalo bull whose
horns measured, between inside bends, 45 ins. We
saw nothing beyond a single bushbuck ; but the grass
here, not having been burnt, was rank and coarse in the
extreme, most distasteful to game. The further west
we went, the worse this feature grew the rankness of
the grass. At the furthest points reached, it looked
as though it had not been burnt for centuries, and
the total absence of spoor, old or other, showed
that no game frequented that district. "We therefore
turned back towards the better-burnt " opens " near
Kishobo, where we had already proved the presence of
buffalo.
On these farthest opens grew lovely lilies, " ever-
lastings," and foxgloves though these are probably not
their correct names.
Although the unburnt grass seemed to indicate a
total absence of humanity, even in its lowest forms, yet
on different occasions we met with evidence bespeaking
the proximity of savage neighbours. Twice we found
the forest-trail obstructed by trees purposely felled
athwart it ; and twice we fell in with native huts in
the jungle. More primitive human dwellings could not
be ; they consisted merely of withy boughs stuck round
in a circle, their supple tops bent across to meet over
the centre wigwam style. A few leafy branches served
to cover in this frame width 6 ft, height 3^- ft.
Also, while lying awaiting buffalo at dusk, we both
heard, or thought we heard, human voices, and we
certainly did see the wreathing smoke of fires. There
were savages of some sort in this otherwise lifeless
jungle presumably Sotik or other nomad "Wandorobo.
The Sotik tribe, it may be recalled, had broken out in
rebellion some few months previously, but only made a
196
ON SAFARI
poor show of fighting, and were promptly reduced to
submission.
So far this enterprise had not resulted in a single
shot being fired. There yet remained the one great
resource on which we still relied, to wit, the full moon.
On returning to Kishobo, we arranged this last desperate
effort whole-night attacks on the buffalo by moonlight.
We each separately took
light tents, with a couple
of "boys" and a minimum
of necessaries, and each en-
camped alone in gloomy
forest- corners that com-
manded conveniently adja-
cent " opens."
While pitching my lonely
forest- camp that afternoon,
I noticed close by a curious,
sombre-hued small bird with
tufted bushy head and long
black tail edged with white,
that was quite unknown to
me. Some tiny woodpeckers shared my grove, and a
pair of barbets formed a study in bright hues gold and
crimson, set off by jetty black. Less welcome neigh-
bours were huge millipedes, black and chestnut, with
vicious-looking jaws. But there was no time to consider
minor evils.
Confidence was not lacking, and hopes ran high ;
but, alas for this venture, heavy rains now set in, and
each night purple-black clouds overcast the moon. Our
trusted auxiliary failed. Both had similar experience.
Within an hour of sundown that first evening we ran
right into the buffalo close by not fifty yards away, in
the open. But nothing even then was visible, and the
beasts stampeded, snorting, in the dark. My own diary
that night records : " Lighter rains later, but still inky
dark. Could see nothing, so returned to camp at ten,
and had a pint of Giesler(l). At 2 a.m., thick, overcast
A TIXY WOODPECKER.
Olive-green above, grey below,
occiput bright crimson.
THE MAU FOREST
197
and raining spoor showed that a big herd had passed
the bluff close by, apparently only a few minutes before ;
followed on and again got close in could hear them
grazing and grunting, apparently within fifty to eighty
yards ; but no chance to see, much less shoot. Towards
dawn fell in again, a herd of seven ; but ere we over-
hauled them the beasts had gained the sheltering
forest."
That evening at sundown, a low booming call close
by revived hope though I feared it must be cows. No !
GREAT GROUND-HORNBILLS, ALARMED BY A PASSING EAGLE.
these were great ground-hornbills (Bucorvus cafer), big
birds like turkeys, with red pendent wattles, strutting
towards us. It was curious to observe how they squatted
low to earth when a pair of Bateleur eagles passed over-
head on their way to roost. A few minutes later night-
jars appeared in splendid aerial gyrations. These birds
(C. frenatus) kept up their " churring " all night, and
at dawn our common British willow-wren was in half-
song on March 6 the same feeble ditty with which he
bids us farewell at home before finally quitting British
shores towards the end of August.
It irks to dwell on failures ; but there occurred during
this period at least six occasions when one " turn of
198 ON SAFARI
luck," one half-hour of bright moonlight, might have
changed all and given us what we sought. No such aid
occurred : it was perhaps kismet once more, and this
time on the " thumbs-down " side.
The off-chance offered by the full moon was annihi-
lated when her gentle light never too clear for night-
shooting was obscured by murky storm-clouds, and we
could no more.
The following are my brother's impressions of this
venture : " I regret now that we did not spend another
week or so pushing forward into the Sotik, although
I admit that, at the time, it seemed a forlorn
hope.
" When one reads of buffalo-shooting in the olden
days, right out in the open, truly it astonishes one to
think how astutely the great bovines have adapted their
habit to modern necessity and developed a secretiveness
not naturally theirs.
" Against this, I had the services of a native tracker
whose skill in woodcraft was alone worth some sacrifice
to watch. Through the densest thickets of these tangled
forests wherein buffalo now spend the livelong day, he
led me again and again right into the beasts all asleep
in their dark and gloomy stronghold. What followed
each time was a snort and a mighty crash they had
gone, ploughing a way through bush and brake, and
never once had I the luck to see them.
"When the moon waxed full, we tried to cultivate
a closer acquaintance on those open glades of natural
pasturage which are of such frequent occurrence in these
forests, and on which the buffalo feed by night. We
spent great part of our nights watching these spots, and
a weird experience it was. As darkness overshadowed
the scene, the first peculiarity that attracted attention
was a succession of hideous shrieks, issuing, it seemed,
from various points of the compass. We wondered
what animal, or bird, could possibly be guilty of such
enormities, and were but slightly reassured on learning
THE MAU FOEEST 199
from our tracker that the sounds emanated from Sotik
Wandorobo a tribe of forest-dwellers, one of the
lowest of human types. We had previously observed
trees entirely stripped of bark, which, we were told,
these poor creatures had eaten ; and also found their
huts in the forest small, conical structures of green
branches stuck into the ground, bent over, and inter-
laced with smaller branches, hardly bigger than dog-
kennels. Each hut had a slightly raised platform at
ANOTHER HORN'BILL (Lophoceros).
the further end inside ; so that these wild men of the
woods evidently disapprove of sleeping on the bare
earth.
" Although these savages were aware of our presence
and followed us throughout our nightly wanderings (as
we discovered by their tracks covering ours on the dewy
grass at dawn), yet they in no way molested us, nor did
we ever see them.
" It was into these solitudes that we penetrated, each
with a few followers and a light tent apiece, that was
pitched amidst foliage so rank as to be invisible at
twenty yards from any point of view never could
have found my way back to mine but for our savage
guides.
200
ON SAFARI
" Our quest finally failed, as, although shadowy
forms of animals were occasionally distinguished by us
in the moonlight, yet with an overcast sky and constant
heavy rain, it was not possible to specify them. They
might be cows or calves, we could not tell."
HORNBILLS ON WING.
CHAPTER XVII
THE ATHI PLAINS
(l) FLYING VISIT IN SEPTEMBER 1904
THE rolling downs known as the Athi Plains are
familiar to all travellers on the Uganda railway, and
I need not stop to describe the spectacle of animal-life
that can be enjoyed from the carriage windows through-
out a distance of close upon 150 miles. Nowhere
else on earth can wild game be seen to such advantage,
in all the luxury of a corridor-carriage.
It was merely a flying visit that I paid to the Athi
in 1904, since only forty-eight hours remained available
for shooting before the homeward-bound train was due at
Athi River station ; and in that short time my object
was to secure specimens of Coke's hartebeest and of the
East- African blue wildebeest or white-bearded gnu.
Leaving Nairobi at 3 p.m. (September 17), and being
mounted on a riding-mule, we covered that evening
more than half of the nineteen miles that separate the
tin capital from Athi River. On this march many
hartebeests were seen, but all hopelessly wild, and the
half-day closed blank.
Starting again before dawn, and riding in advance
of the safari, I descried in the half-light some 400
yards ahead an ostrich that certainly had not been in
sight five seconds before. This seemed inexplicable,
but on riding to the spot, there lay eleven huge eggs
scattered at random over a bare spot from which the
grass had been roughly scratched away. Four selected
specimens furnished excellent omelettes for my whole
201
202 ON SAFARI
retinue ! Two other ostrich nests found that year by
friends contained as many as twenty-seven and thirty-
four eggs respectively. The cock ostrich, being black
and conspicuous, sits on the eggs by night only, the
brown invisible hen taking the post of danger by day.
As light strengthened the wide prairies were seen to
swarm with game, chiefly zebras, gazelles and harte-
beests the latter fearfully wild ; yet even at these great
distances the striking difference in the form of their
horns from those of B. neumanni was perfectly distin-
guishable. The latter diverge at an acute angle re-
sembling the letter V, while those of B. cokei spread out
laterally before ascending like two capital L's I I
the second reversed.
All the hartebeests carry the head in a rigid upright
position that is, the long face, as viewed in profile, is
held almost at a right angle with the earth ; and the
curious effect is accentuated (especially in B. jacksoni)
by the set of the horns, which, rising from long pedicles
in the same vertical plane, prolong the already ex-
travagant length of the head.
The game being utterly inaccessible and my own
time so limited, I resorted to taking some rather reckless
shots. With shame I admit firing that morning more
cartridges than on any other day in Africa. In the
result, I " fluked" a bull with a ball between the eyes,
and the next shot gave me a second both at extreme
ranges. Though big bulls, neither carried a first-rate
head.
From the spot where No. 2 fell on the ridge of a
rocky bluff we looked down upon the Athi River, its
course indicated by belts of brushwood and tall forest-
trees that fringe the banks. Spying from here, we made
out a group of ten wildebeests, standing listless in a
green corrie a mile away ; but with a single old bull
alert as sentry. These also proved wilder than wild, and
stalking practically impossible. Though undulated, the
sloping gradients of this veld are altogether too spacious,
the angles too gentle, to afford any real advantage.
THE ATHI PLAINS
203
After many laborious attempts all in vain as a last
resource we tried an appeal to the known curiosity
of the gnu. As the string of great shaggy beasts
went prancing and capering along a slope 500 yards
away, Hamisi and I threw ourselves down flat on the
grass just before the animals took a slight fold in the
THE SENTKY WHITE-BEARDED GNUS.
hill-face. We could then barely see their backs and
wildly-whirling tails as they scampered along, half-
hidden in the hollow beyond. The ruse, however, so
far succeeded that the troop, pausing in mid -career,
wheeled half round, clashed up the intervening slope
and pulled up, facing us, on the crest.
They now presented a fair shot at 300 to 350 yards ;
but Nemesis stood at my elbow, exacting the full price
for that random shooting of the morning. It had
204 ON SAFARI
demoralised me, and now my " sighting " was too high,
and the ball passed harmless overhead. Off scampered
those weird wildebeests, their bucking heads and whirl-
ing tails half seen through clouds of dust. I watched
them for miles, and knew that my star had set. In the
broiling noontide heat, I walked down to our camp on
the Athi.
Under the shade by the river stood four waterbuck
the first of the white-ringed species (Ellipsiprymnus]
that I had then seen in East Africa. These I left severely
alone, having fine examples shot in the Transvaal. There
was one bull among them, but his head was poor, as are
those of all his kind in Equatoria. For the 30-in. heads
of this you must go to the tropic of Capricorn. Here,
in East Africa, Cobus defassa is the master-form.
Work as I would that evening and I spared neither
my men nor myself I could not retrieve the bungle of
the morning ; for, amidst abundant game, not a single
wildebeest could, we descry. My ten friends had
evidently cleared out of the country, and no others
remained within our radius.
Throughout these Athi Plains, and in wide areas of
the Rift Valley, one notices that where the greatest
abundance of game is seen, there exists, at this season
(August September), scarce a vestige of grass or
verdure. Yet, hard by, lie stretches of coarse sour
grass totally neglected and uneaten, and where no game
can be seen. This latter sort of grass, with its flowering
heads, resembles a crop of wild oats. Its special utility
is not obvious, and it is hard work walking through it
The contrast is remarkable. The sweetness and rich
quality of the other kind of grass is attested by the
closeness with which it has, at this season, been cropped
by the game. On reaching spots where great herds had
been grazing, one marvels what they had found to eat
on them. There is but naked earth, pulverised by a
thousand hoofs.
Towards sunset I succeeded in getting two balls into
quite the best hartebeest bull I had yet seen. Darkness
THE ATHI PLAINS
205
alone prevented our securing him that night, and when
we did recover the trophy at daybreak guided thereto by
circling marabous the meat had already been devoured
by a lion, whose pugs were distinct on the soft soil.
Not a morsel remained to reward the thirty or forty
vultures that sat around. Two hyenas watched their
own interests from a high ridge beyond.
Before leaving camp on this, my last morning, I had
'CLEARED OUT.
sent out scouts in three directions to spy for wildebeest,
with instructions to report to me here (by the dead
hartebeest) at the earliest possible moment. While we
were yet busy with the kongoni, one of these men
arrived with the news that a herd of twenty or thirty
" Nyumbo " (wildebeest) were grazing one hour's walk to
the southward. Mounting the mule, I set off at once in
the direction indicated. This was the first time I had
ridden during this whole expedition, and, on coming
among game, I at once noticed (1) that game took less
notice of a mounted man than of a hunter on foot,
and (2) that distance-judgment was simpler and more
206 ON SAFAKI
accurate from the vantage-height of the saddle. I had
scarce ridden a mile than I found myself nearer far to
two first-rate hartebeest bulls than I had ever been in all
my strenuous hunting on foot ! They stood with heads
up, watching me, but otherwise showing no signs of
alarm. On arriving at a range judged (quite accurately)
to be 125 yards, I slipped from the saddle and dropped
both bulls with a single ball apiece. The second
presently regained his legs, and, though receiving another
bullet, moved slowly off some 500 yards, where he lay
down. I could just see his angular bracket-shaped
horns over a rise in the ground from near where we
stood, so decided to leave him to stiffen while we
off-skinned the first.
In case it may appear cruel to leave an animal thus
in pain, I reply that this was the safest plan to secure
him, and thus end his pain. To chase a newly- wounded
beast hot-foot is a sure way to lose him.
With chagrin we observed half-an-hour later that
twelve fresh animals had joined the wounded one, and
that all thirteen were on foot. Hamisi's keen eye,
however, saved the situation, for he never lost sight of
the dark splash on the wounded bull's pale-coloured
quarters, and presently I finished him with a ball in the
neck at 180 yards. The three bulls secured this morning
were all first-rate specimens of Bubalis cokei, their horns
taping I7f, 17^ and 16f ins. respectively. The span
varied from 11 to 13 ins., and the basal circumference
8| to 9 ins. Weight estimated at 300 to 350 Ibs.
apiece.
The hour was now 7.45, so, leaving some "boys"
to bring in the meat and skins, I rode on towards the
wildebeests, still two miles distant. Presently we sighted
them, feeding beyond a wide grassy hollow. But what
was my disappointment to find, on advancing, that in
that hollow there ran the Uganda railway, which marks,
at this point, the boundary of the Game- Reserve, and all
beyond was sacred ! For a moment I admit having
regarded the situation with mixed ideas that may be
THE ATHI PLAINS 207
imagined. A minute's reflection and the law-abiding
tradition prevailed ; besides, am I not a member of the
SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE FAUXA OF THE
EMPIRE ? which (despite the handicap of a long-drawn
title) works hard to safeguard threatened creatures and
to secure the provision of just such sanctuaries as that
which now confronted me and my keenest aspirations.
After a prolonged survey with the binoculars, I left
the gnus in peace, but with the determination to return
another year to the beautiful plains of the Athi River.
With my last 'shot in Africa I killed a Thomson's
gazelle, and reached Athi River station in time to clean
and pack rifles and enjoy a last al fresco breakfast ere
the 12.30 train bore me coastwards. I had a travelling
companion as far as Kiu in Mr. J. Donald, whom we had
met six weeks earlier. D had just secured a lion on
the Athi under the following circumstances : Hearing a
roar before dawn, he set out at once, and after daybreak
heard it again. The lion was half-a-mile away, moving
across the plain. On reaching an ant-hill, whence he
hoped to find the beast within shot, as a precautionary
measure D first peeped round the shoulder of the
mound, and there, close at hand, espied the lion crouch-
ing towards him each, in fact, stalking the other. The
lion had mistaken the creeping figure of a man for some
low-moving game probably a wart-hog. A '303 bullet
rather below the eyes settled the question.
Leaving Mombasa on September 22 by the German
East-Africa Line s.s. Kanzler, and transhipping to the
P. and 0. Marmora at Aden, I reached home, and was
salmon-fishing in Northumberland just three weeks after
firing my last shot in Equatorial Africa.
CHAPTER XVIII
A MONTH ON THE ATHI RIVER
(ll) IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 1906
FIFTEEN months later, namely, towards the Christmas
of 1905, we returned to East Africa, and this year com-
menced our operations on the Athi Plains. Riding out
from Nairobi, we camped the first evening at " Nine-
Mile Spruit," where snipe were abundant, also big fran-
colin (Scolopax nigripennis and Francolinus uluensis] ;
and W fired the first shot of the expedition at
pelicans. We reached the Athi River, above " Lone-
Tree," the following day.
Although the East- African brindled gnu, or white-
bearded wildebeest (Connochoetes albojubatus) , still
formed one main objective, yet meanwhile our self-con-
fidence or pride, whichever it were had induced us
to place the lion in the forefront of our programme.
The lioness we had already slain : the lion now formed
our first ambition.
The higher plateaux of the Athi Plains usually drop
towards the lower levels by the river in a series of broken
steps ; but this drop, at the point we had selected, is
confined to a single escarpment, fairly abrupt and 200
to 300 ft. in height. At intervals of a mile or two, the
face of this escarpment is furrowed transversely by deep
and narrow ravines, which during the rains form water-
courses draining the higher ground, and which also
afford at that season, a favourite shelter for lions.
Four or five such ravines lay within reach of our
present camp, while many more were accessible by shifting
its position along the river.
Now, although lions abound on the Athi, yet neither
208
THE ATHI RIVER 209
there nor anywhere else is the lion an easy prize quite
the reverse. The element of luck enters large. Both
in South and East Africa men may spend years and yet
never chance to see, much less to shoot, a lion. A new-
comer, on the other hand, may fall in with a " soft "
chance in his first week. There is here a system by which
success may be made fairly secure, to which I refer later.
The first ravine we tried held a lion. We two were
in ambush at its mouth, and had sent some twenty-five
beaters round the flank with specific instructions to go
in at the extreme head of the gorge. Instead, they had
commenced to enter when only half-way up. From my
position (we were commanding the outlet on opposite-
sides) I saw this lazy move, and at once checked it.
The mischief, however, was done. The lion lay not far
below the head of the gorge, and, although he remained
quiescent till the beaters had arrived within 100 yards,
he had fully appreciated the previous false move, and,
instead of taking the direct course down the glen, he
bounded up the steep bank on the south and gained the
table-land above.
A mounted Somali hunter, whom I had placed
on the chance of his being able to ride the lion to
gave him a bit of a run, but the ground was bad
the start too great.
After this failure we always went one gun with the
beaters or, rather, 100 yards in advance the other
being posted at the outlet of each gorge.
It was exciting work for the advanced gun, standing
in front of each dense clump of bush, or tumbled pile of
rocks often when two such holts were being beaten at
once while the crowd of yelling savages swarmed in from
above or behind, and showers of stones came hurtling
and crashing downwards through the covert. Many of
these ravines, moreover, had a most "lionous" smell,
which constantly induced a belief that the king of beasts
was close by. But this scent was a deception, arising
from an aromatic shrub.
During three weeks spent on the Athi we drove
210 ON SAFARI
dozens of these ravines, but, except on that first drive
of all, never again did we see the coveted beast until the
very last. Then a lioness bounding up in front of W-
(who was with the beaters), disappeared amid bush-clad
rocks, and, as she never emerged on the lower side, where
I awaited her, had evidently gone to ground among the
rocks, whence we failed to dislodge her.
We put up, of course, plenty of other game, such as
Chanler's reedbuck, duiker, dikdik, steinbuck and pig.
On one occasion, from some huge pinnacled rocks, choked
with heavy brushwood, which towered up, island-like, in
the neck of a ravine, sprang seven hyenas within fifty
yards. For a moment, I thought. the great half-seen
brutes were lions at last and rather too many all at
once. One of these rolled over to a Paradox bullet, and
at the mouth of the gorge W made a brilliant shot
at a second, killing one of a string of five that filed past
at well over 300 yards. His first shot had struck the
ground behind, but, by correcting the forward allowance,
the second got well home.
Twice during these lion-drives we met with porcu-
pines. The first, a male, was caught alive in a bush-
filled donga by Mabruki the same Mabruki who after-
wards proved a source of danger, but who was always
wondrous expert in this way ; the second, though com-
pletely surrounded, managed to dodge a dozen active
natives, and, by a series of bounds, and with its quills
.all rattling, gained refuge in a crevice of rock. The
stomach of that secured contained grass, seeds and other
vegetable-matter only.
Guinea-fowl and francolins sped down the glens like
driven blackcock, and curious nightjars (Cosmetornis
vexillarius, the pennant-winged nightjar) nicked up
and dived back among the scrub, while our common
English swallows filled the air. These were constant
companions, snapping up, under our lee, the insects
disturbed by the beaters. Other small British birds
observed on the equator in January included wheatear,
tree-pipit, yellow and grey wagtails.
THE ATHI RIVER
211
Notable also were the great eagle-owls that came
sailing silently down the glen before the beaters great
mottled fellows, grey and black (Bubo maculosus), that
perched on some boulder, and sat there snapping and
seemingly inclined to resent the intrusion on discovering
one close by. Either these owls or the still bigger and
PE-VXAXT-WINGED NIGHTJAR.
very handsome Bubo lacteus were responsible for most
unearthly " hootings " which we heard at times, startling
the midnight echoes. There were also two kinds of
eagles : the larger, light-breasted and broad-tailed, with
short rounded wings, was the crowned hawk-eagle
(Spizaetus coronatus), a fierce and powerful species that
made magnificent stoops after our startled guinea-fowl
these, however, escaping by tumbling pell-mell among
the scrub, the eagle buoyantly sweeping upwards with a
little wild cry of vexation. The actual "stoop" was a
fine sight the wings being gradually drawn in at the
shoulder till the great bird resembled an arrow-head, and
212
ON SAFARI
one heard the rush of air at a quarter-mile (see p. 224).
This eagle, on seeing its original aim to be untrue, had
the power instantly to check its on-rush ; then, after
poising a second, to renew the attack on a different
line. In Somaliland, our hunters told us, this eagle
kills their goats, and also attacks young antelopes and
LOST BY A LENGTH. HAWK-EAGLE AND GUINEA-FOWL.
gazelles. One day, while sheltering in a cave from
the noontide heat, a pair of dark chocolate-coloured
eagles, with conspicuous white secondaries, after wheeling
overhead, uttering piercing shrieks, alighted on the crag
opposite, not eighty yards away, and I enjoyed watching
them vis-d-vis for nearly an hour. They had black
occipital crests quite a foot long, which lifted and waved
in the breeze. These were Lophoaetus occipitalis, the
black-crested hawk-eagle.
One is apt to find strange neighbours during that
THE ATHI RIVER
213
vis-X-vis.
midday siesta on the veld some quite undesirable, as
scorpions and great hook-clawed millipedes half-a-foot
long ; others curious, as the mantis, infinite stick-insects,
rhinoceros beetles, and assorted
Coleoptera in various sizes, with
ants and hairy spiders and other
quaint forms. They may be harm-
less or not ; but, being unknown,
are apt to cause a passing qualm
when discovered on one's person.
For instance, it must give a chill
suddenly to meet the cold green
eye of a great lizard steadfastly
surveying one from a crevice not
a foot away. One day, in a grove
by the A tin, a reiterated snap,
snap, arrested attention, and there,
pressed upright against a grey
trunk, sat the tiny grey owl whose
portrait is here rudely reproduced.
Hen-harriers, both the blue males
and " ring- tails," quartered the open
veld in pairs, and on burnt ground
crowds of white storks feasted on
singed grasshoppers and locusts. With
them were others, smaller and of darker
plumage, that I at first took to be
black storks. They were, however,
Ciconia abdimii. Black kites (Milvus
korschun) abounded up to mid-
February, when they withdrew, leav-
ing only their yellow-billed cousin,
M. cegyptiacus, to scavenge around
our camps.
The driest arid plain formed a
winter home for four waders, to wit the Asiatic
dotterel, the ringed plover, dunlin and pratincole.
The last-named in bands of thirty or forty would
spring close by, and, after a short flight, all plump
SCOPS CAPEXSLS.
214 ON SAFARI
down together among the wiry grass. I was dis-
appointed in not meeting with coursers birds I have
never seen, and of which several species exist here.
Larks were a conspicuous genus, and one small group
quite new to me the bush-larks (Mirafra), small and
thick-set, with short rounded wings. On February 4
I found a nest of one of these, a rufous-winged little
bird, probably M. athi, containing a newly-hatched
chick. It was on bare ground, slightly sheltered by a
low rock. The secretary-bird we observed on various
occasions; but these, as well as bustards, cranes, etc.,
have, I think, already been mentioned.
A fortnight's hard w r ork having failed to produce so
much as even the sight of another lion, we decided to
try fresh ground.
East of the Athi rise the mountain-ranges of Lukenia
with numerous outlying koppies most " lionous " spots,
with splendid shaded caves, many of these showing
ample evidence (in tawny hair, etc.) of quite recent
occupation. Lions lie up by day, not in the cold re-
cesses of these caverns, but quite openly beneath over-
hanging shelves of rock outside them. Where these
" beds " were exposed to the full rays of the afternoon
sun, a second lair would always be found a few yards
away round some projecting angle that afforded shelter
from meridian heat. There were rarely any bones about
these dens save indeed those of mice, relics of owls
and kestrels that also frequent the rocks. In one lion-
cave grew a wild fig-tree.
We worked all these koppies for miles along the
Lukenia Range, sometimes stalking particular lairs the
positions of which were known, at others "driving"
some great tumbled pile of rocks, or trying by grass-fires
to smoke out secretive denizens. We put out jackals
and numberless hyrax, but never a lion. Sometimes
when one realised that a beast was coming out by the
exit where one held guard, it was almost a relief to
observe that it was " only a jackal " !
BOLTING LIONS.
"Only a Jackal.'
THE AUTHOR ON "GOLDFINCH."
THE ATHI RIVER 215
Early in February having meanwhile completed an
expedition to the Stony Athi we returned to the main
river and tried afresh the whole of the lion-ravines and
koppies, including many new spots ; but all again proved
blank.
Regarded purely as lion-hunters, we had failed, for
not a single shot Ijad been fired. But intense interest
never flagged, and experiences had been gained as regards
the haunts and habits of lions that both explain our
failure and may benefit future efforts.
It is during the rains that lions seek the shelter
of the ravines or rocks described. In November and
December, several lions had been shot here by precisely
similar operations. At that season one has, of course,
to take some slight risk of fever ; but that is the time
to get lions in these ravines. We, timing our arrival
for Christmas (when rains cease), were too late, that is,
for lion. For that animal during the dry season needs
no shelter, and is content to lie up by day in open grass
or any slight covert the prairie may afford such as the
reed-beds, where heavy canes afford shade from the sun
and are then dry beneath. 1
1 Another English sportsman, shooting close by (Lieutenant
Black, 5th Dragoon Guards), had precisely similar experience, never
seeing a lion until after leaving the Athi and on his homeward
march to Nairobi, when on passing quite a small reed-bed, he sent a
dozen " boys " round to drive. A lioness bolted at once ; but hearing
something else inside he waited, and was rewarded by securing a
lion at the eleventh hour.
A year later, Mr. (now Capt.) Black wrote me as follows, from
Bloemfontein
"I did not see even a track of elephants this year, but came on
several lions; first two, which, though I got within 100 yards,
completely defeated me. Then six, stalking a herd of zebra on the
Athi River, when I got a lion and a lioness out of the troop. Next,
on Kapiti Plains, I came across five lionesses with cubs. I drove
them away from the cubs, which they left, and for ten minutes or
so all five lionesses kept walking away from me at about 400 yards.
Then, all of a sudden, three of them whipped round and fairly
charged. I gave them rapid magazine fire, which stopped them
when within some thirty yards; but although I hit two badly, I
only picked up one, the other two then retreating, much to my
216 ON SAFARI
The perception of this radical error in our tactics
first dawned upon us on meeting with a man (Mr. Hill)
who was engaged riding down young ostriches, for the
purpose of stocking an ostrich-farm. Lions, he told us,
were a serious nuisance in his occupation : since almost
daily he had run into them on the open veld. Some-
times they retired peacefully ; others resented being
disturbed, and, carrying no weapon but a revolver, he
had to quit as well as might be. This "riding out"
ostriches, by the way, is about as hot a job as white
man (originally white, since no trace of that colour
survived on H ) can undertake. The process of
tiring-out a young ostrich, though scarce exceeding a
turkey in bulk, occupies well-nigh a whole day's hard
riding ; and when, in addition, the ostrich-hunter has,
perhaps twice a week, to outride a charging lion, the
avocation may be described as strenuous.
The incident noted points a clear clue to assuring
success in lion-hunting during the dry season. To a
man on foot, on such limitless veld, the chance is all
but hopeless : to a mounted hunter that chance expands
indefinitely. By riding far and wide each dawn or,
still more quickly, by sending out mounted Somalis in
various directions lions will, sooner or later, be descried
returning to their diurnal lairs ; or failing that, dis-
covered lying therein. Then, in either case, or however
found, they can be " held-up " by skilled riding not, it
is true, without risk or exciting interludes during which
hunter and hunted alternately exchange rdles.
So soon as a lion, or lions, find that the pursuing
horseman has the speed of them, but yet refuses to
close ; also that, in turn, they are themselves unable to
overhaul the flying pony, they will deliberately halt,
either lying down in the grass, or sitting on their
haunches like so many huge dogs. They then present
a target for the rifle ; but necessarily distant, since there
relief. It was a near thing, and I can't understand their funking it
at thirty yards after charging over 300. My two gun-bearers (a
Somali and a M^kumba) both stood by and loaded for me."
THE ATHI RIVER 217
is obvious danger in going in within, say, 200 yards
for a lion has a fine turn of speed for a short distance.
Nor will it be a simple shot, for hard riding will not
have steadied the hand for fine shooting at long range.
Clearly, useful shooting-ponies are a first essential,
when the least delay in remounting must involve disaster;
the pursuit also presupposes a degree of skill in horse-
manship which, alas, in our own case was utterly
lacking.
A yet more scientific development of hunting-craft
enables the presence of lions far away to be detected by
the movements or position of the game on the plains.
Thus a wide gap seen among game otherwise distributed
regularly, is deserving of attention. This may, it is
true, be merely accidental more probably not ; possibly
the gap may be caused by some hyenas finishing a
carrion meal. But it is always worth ascertaining if a
broad vacant space be not cleared by the tell-tale scent
of lions lying up to the windward thereof. 1
There is of course abundance of other game, besides
lions, on the Athi. We observed waterbuck, for example,
coming out to feed every morning at dawn on the open
veld adjoining the river. These were the common "ring-
tailed " waterbuck, and one bull in particular appeared to
carry quite a handsome head ; but when shot by W
his horns only taped 22j ins., by 8 ins. in basal cir-
cumference, and 12 ins. between tips. In East Africa
this fine antelope never reaches the dimensions attained
further south.
It was noteworthy that during the first half of January
we saw here neither zebra nor wildebeest usually so
extremely abundant. But on January 20 a few zebras
appeared ; several troops showed up on the following
day, and after that date they became numerous. The
first wildebeest two old bulls were observed on
1 So successful is our friend Mr. C. B. Perceval, Game-ranger
of British East Africa, in thus reading Nature's signs, that sundry
native hunters assert that he can " see lions " when lying asleep in
the grass at six or seven miles !
218
ON SAFARI
January 22, but it was some days before we saw any
more. By the end of the month, however, fresh troops
A TROPICAL POOL ON ATHI RIVER.
Note the hanging nests of weavers.
were coming in daily all, like the zebras, from the
southward.
Our main camp lay between the escarpment afore-
said and the river. Behind it arose that abrupt slope,
THE ATHI RIVER 219
pierced, within a mile, by the nearest of the frowning
lion-ravines; while close in front dawdled the sluggish
Athi. Its banks, elsewhere open, here merged in forest-
belts, and a deep pool below the camp was embowered
in dense scrub, fringed outside with trees. This weird
pool abounded in tropical scenes. Amidst a varied
population, it harboured, we found, a monster hippo
and numerous crocodiles. The tall acacias outside were
festooned with pendent nests of weaver-finches, scores on
a branch like a heavy crop of jargonelle pears ; inside,
also, the bush and palmites overhanging the stagnant
water were laden with nests, some almost dipping the
surface. These belonged to another species. The
pennant- winged nightjar already named above, abounded
on the riverside, flicking up at one's feet, sometimes
three or four together, and all settling again, often on
bare sand, within a dozen yards.
We spent many evenings by that pool in an attempt
to secure the hippo none the less enjoyable in that the
main object failed. The bird-life atoned for that.
Besides the weavers and an infinity of doves, of king-
fishers, azure and pied, there also abode here the
singular hammer-head (Scopus umbretta), whose huge
nest an accumulation of sticks that would fill a
cottage burdened a waterside fork. Small cormorants
(some dark, others buff- breasted), and those extraordinary
birds, the darters, with exaggerated snake-like necks, sat
perched on protruding snags or dived in opaque green
depths. The darters also displayed various hues : yet
all belong to but one species, Plotm rufus. These birds
possessed a joint breeding-colony a mile or two further
up the river, their nests being massed on low willows
and overhanging bush ; while the tall overarching trees
above were occupied by a heronry. The latter com-
munity included both purple, black-headed and night-
herons ; while a big separate single nest belonged, I
fancy, to a pair of wood-ibis that were always seen hard
by. The buff-backed herons maintained a separate
establishment of their own among thorn-trees, in a
220
ON SAFARI
rocky ravine near " Lone-Tree." At this date, of course,
none of these birds were actually nesting.
Our pachydermatous friend beat us (though his
stronghold was but 250 yards long) by never showing
above water save beneath the dense fringe of over-
hanging jungle that projected far beyond either bank.
Nor are crocodiles easy to detect, so little do they
expose above water, and so absolutely does their
slimy armour assimilate in hue with the slimy rocks
HAMMEB-HEAD (Scopus itmbretta).
A monotone in browns, without a touch of contrast or relief.
on which they lie. One that we surprised asleep,
though fully 12 ft. long, disappeared without leaving
a ripple behind, so gently did he slide off his ledge.
Another croc, on receiving a bullet, disgorged dozeus
of small silvery fish.
Watching silently by these eerie pools, we noticed
huge water-turtles emerge from sullen depths and with
ungainly wriggle seek to gain the bank. There were
also great land-tortoises ; two that we brought home
measure 24 ins. over the carapace, by 16|- ins. along the
flat belly-plate.
THE ATHI RIVER 221
In another forest-girt pool, overarched with broad-
topped "fever-trees," Mabruki's wondrous instinct de-
tected a hippo where none save savage eye could surely
have espied it. A big leafy tree had fallen half across
the river, and it was beneath the sunken boughs of this,
all laden with drift grass and wrack, that the hippo
at intervals showed up to breathe. Nothing even then
was visible save only the snout and elevated cranium,
and these concealed amidst leafage and drift. By
creeping forward while the hippo was under, I reached
a fallen tree within fifteen yards. Presently that weird
apparition emerged, silent and ghost-like amid the
shadows. I placed a '450-solid fair on the cranium
somewhere : for a resounding crash ensued, yet no water
flew up nor was there a ripple to be seen.
Note that the impact of a ball from these powerful
rifles on water will throw up a solid column twenty feet
in height and stun all the fish for yards around. There
is therefore no mistaking a miss.
Yet we never saw that hippo again. So absolutely
certain did I feel that he must be dead, that when we
did not find him floating next morning, thinking he
must be held down by the fallen tree, we returned a
third time in the afternoon with axes, ropes, etc., and
cut the trunk loose. But nothing appeared. The luck
of Elmenteita was repeated. I was fated not to get a
hippo : yet the undertaking presents not a tithe the
difficulty of others in which we succeeded.
The presence of so many ichthyophagous birds and
reptiles clearly bespoke fish, and our men caught
numbers of a small dace-like species, pale green above,
silvery below, which took a bait greedily, and were
jerked ashore. Though almost tasteless, fish were
welcome enough as a change in our veld fare. We also
saw other fish, much larger apparently several pounds
in weight in the deep pools of the Athi.
The early mornings at this season (January) were cold,
still and foggy, with heavy dew. At nine o'clock a
breeze set in from the north, increasing during the day
222
ON SAFARI
-(sometimes half a gale by afternoon), but always
following the sun towards west at dusk.
Temperature at dawn, 56 .degrees one day as low as
.50 degrees ; temperature at noon, 80 to 90 degrees
once or twice as high as 98 degrees in our tents.
On many evenings were magnificent displays of
electric flash-lights in the heavens, always, however, at
one particular spot on any one evening.
One night shortly after " lights-out," my tent caught
fire through my having carelessly knocked out some
live tobacco ash. Half-an-hour later, an asphyxiating
" sty the " awoke me, and having relit the lamp, I was
THK DACE (LeuClSCUS) OF ATHI.
seeking the cause thereof, when bang went a cordite
cartridge at my feet ; my khaki cartridge-bag was
smouldering, and next moment flames leaped up the
canvas wall. I sang out for help, and meanwhile got
to work with boots, sun-helmet, whatever came handy,
to stamp out the fire. The night-watch was smart
enough on the spot, bringing buckets of water, and
though amid repeated explosions of cartridges I had
.already extinguished the flames, the men promptly
deluged my bed and belongings ! Considerable force is
developed by the explosion of a cordite cartridge, even
when unconfined in a barrel, for several of the remain-
ing cartridges were bulged and twisted. The bullets,
however, of those that had gone off, lay about harm-
lessly. Note, that there were no ticks or other vermin
in my tent after that accident !
THE ATHI RIVER
223
We caught, during January, the young of both
species of gazelle, about half-grown. All efforts to rear
them, however, failed just as happened with our young
oryx at Baringo. Fresh cows' milk is the first essential,
and we had none only tinned stuff. The young of
G. thomsoni are striped vertically, zebra-fashion, in a
darker shade.
February 5. Rode out this evening to Khoma
Note that at the distant view (700 yards) markings are indistinguishable. The
old bull appeared nearly black.
Koppies, to examine once more all the lion-holts and
caves ; but again without success, though the spectacle
of wild-life enjoyed to-night ranks among the many
wondrous scenes I have gazed on in Africa. On open
veld below the koppie, half-a-mile from the nearest
trees, grazed seven giraffe one a huge black bull. I
watched them put their heads right down, feeding not
actually on grass, but, as I presently ascertained, on
the low mimosa-growth among the grass. When stand-
ing at ease, the neck is held forward in same plane with
224
ON SAFARI
the back, say at an angle of 45 degrees to the ground.
Four ostriches fed with the giraffe, and below, nearer
the wooded donga, seven waterbuck. Close by stood a
hyena.
Besides the above, there were also in sight of where
I sat on the high koppie, three great crowds of kongoni
hundreds in all and several troops of zebra, mixed
with which were six wildebeest, while gazelles of both
sorts dotted the veld. Overhead soared a pair of the
great white-breasted harpy eagles, using their extended
feet as equipoises to balance in the breeze. On the
koppie hard by, hyrax ran about the rocks, and the
evening sky was filled with hovering kestrels. A
Bateleur eagle, disturbed from the crags, vainly tried to
poise on a thorn-tree below, and skeins of crowned
cranes startled the stillness, passing up the valley with
resonant cries.
EAGLES STOOPIXG.
CHAPTER XIX
ON THE STONY ATHI
JANUARY FEBRUAEY 1906
NOT having heard a single lion by night since the
18th, on January 23 we shifted camp to the Stony
Athi. While the safari held the line of the rivers,
"W and I crossed over by the Lukenia Heights,
where in a steep rocky glen we observed a hyena
slinking away. Having by a flank stalk reached the
exact spot, and seeing nothing of the beast, I feared he
had slipped away (though hoiv I could not see), and was
searching the ground minutely, when he jumped from a
wet drain in the hollow below and galloped up the
opposite slope, distended with meat to double his proper
breadth. After over-shooting with the right, I got him
stone-dead with the left, going for all he was worth, at
100 yards. This was a male in his prime, and the best
I have seen, being perfect in both teeth and fur, the
latter heavily spotted, clean and without the least touch
of mange. Length, taped along back, 57^- ins. ;
weight, full as he was (\ve could barely lift him to pose
for his photo, see p. 232), reckoned at nearly 200 Ibs. ;
iricles dark ; inside of mouth, lips and tongue, livid blue
or lavender colour.
Stony Athi, January 24. Lions roaring splendidly
near camp at 4 a.m., so we set out at dawn, with two
Wakamba savages as guides, and tried a great extent of
likely cover wood, scrub and reed-beds along the river
but without seeing anything bigger than a bushbuck.
I shot a zebra for meat, a photo of which (showing
225 Q
226 ON SAFARI
Said Hassan, and Mabruki on the right) is given at p.
236, and W , not fancying this, added a " Tommy "
for our own mess. Though terribly wounded, this little
antelope was getting away when two jackals took up
the chase, running him one on either flank, and eventu-
ally turning the poor wounded beastie and driving him
back into W 's face. They got the gralloch for
their share. The zebras of the Athi are striped around
the legs nearly down to the hoof, the last inch being
black, thus belonging to the sub-species, or form Equus
chapmani. Their colour, as in all East- African zebras,
is of purest white, the bands broad and intensely black.
The following day I at length succeeded in fulfilling
one main ambition by securing my first wildebeest
bull of the East-African species. There were four of
them in a wide-sweeping basin impossible of access.
Having a good " rest " on an ant-hill, I was constrained
to try a shot at some 400 yards. No sound of a hit
reached my ears, but within a minute one of the four
stopped and lay down, the others halting beyond.
There was no mistaking the import of this ; yet that
stern-chase led us many a weary mile over shadeless
plain, ere that great shaggy beast finally succumbed to
a fifth bullet just before the sun went under. A wilde-
beest bull is a noble prize ; this one was a fair average
specimen, his horns measuring 22^ ins. between the
inside bends. Dead-weight as he fell estimated at near
500 Ibs. For days and weeks after this, the wildebeests
utterly defied our utmost efforts.
We saw four eland to-day, as well as waterbuck,
impala and wart-hog the latter followed by small
young.
The lion still filled our minds. Rock-koppies and
ravines alike had failed ; but there remained another
resource namely, the beds of heavy green flags that
fringe the river (called '" tinga-tinga " by the natives),
and which the Wakamba assured us held lions. One of
the largest of these lies in full view of passengers on
the Uganda railway near mile-peg 300 and hard by
ON THE STONY ATHI 227
this, on Stony Atki, we pitched camp. Here before
each dawn we occupied posts commanding views far and
wide over the veld, and eagerly "glassed" every beast
that moved in hopes of recognising an approaching lion ;
but none appeared. Later we tried " driving " the
tinga-tinga a job our men shied at till promised back-
sheesh in event of success. We also pushed through
the heavy flags ourselves ; but that was blind work, and
in the result never so much as saw a lion. They might
still be there, nevertheless, so dense and extensive was
the covert.
It was at this point that, a year or two earlier, our
friend Mr. Chalmers Bontein was rather badly mauled
by a lion he had wounded and followed into cover.
One evening our men collecting fire-wood rushed in
to report a lion close by. It proved to be a hyena,
which animals wailed around the camp every night.
Meanwhile a double misfortune had overtaken me.
From the start it had been clear that my Somali hunter,
Said Hassan (whom I had brought from Aden), was a
fraud. He was, moreover, an arrogant self-opinionated
ass, who created trouble in the safari. A really good
Somali is an invaluable assistant in stalking, their
trained eyesight holding in view every movement of
the game even when in forest or bush. Such was my
Elmi Hassan in 1904, and such my brother's present
hunter, Ali Yama. On the other hand, Said's sum total
of fieklcraft consisted in half-a-dozen monkey tricks. I
therefore packed him back to Aden, having had to pay
his passage over 4,000 miles on the faith of " chits "
(references) that he had never earned. During the rest
of this trip I did my hunting alone, employing the
Swahili, Mabruki, as gunbearer.
My experience of Somali hunters is that three out of
every four who profess to be shikaris are not worth their
" ghee."
The second trouble was worse a sheer catastrophe.
A brand-new, costly, telescope-sighted rifle, the weapon
upon which all my reliance was centred, went to bits
228 ON SAFARI
within the first week. After half-a-dozen shots, I
noticed that the attachment of the telescope to the rib
was no longer rigid ; there was a distinct lateral move-
ment in itself a fatal flaw. A few days later, on firing,
the whole telescope flew bodily back in my face, laying
open my cheek and cutting eyebrow and the bridge of
the nose, which still bears the mark. The fault was due
to defective mechanism ; for the whole jar of recoil, as
communicated to the telescope, was received by a tiny
screw that held barely an eighth of an inch into the
rib.
Being thus crippled, I rode into Athi River station
and took train to Nairobi, on the off-chance that such
complex repairs could be effected in Central Africa. By
the kindness of Mr. Gallagher, the Chief Mechanical
Engineer of the U.R., the attachment was made secure ;
but alas, the precise adjustment of alignment between
barrel and telescope was too much to expect in the very
best " railway shops," and for the rest of the trip this
most important rifle was no more use than so much old
metal.
Fortunately, I found a friend in need in Mr. F. J.
Jackson, C.B., H.M.'s Deputy-Commissioner (now
Lieut. -Governor of British East Africa), who most
kindly lent me a '303 telescope-sighted rifle, with which
I was enabled to do excellent work.
Returning to the Athi River two days later, I
received at the station the following note from my
brother : " You needn't worry about those wildebeest.
I've found out how to get them on their way to water,
night and morning. I shot four yesterday in two right-
and-lefts, and one ' lone bull ' this morning. A snake
of sorts jabbed at me among the grass coming back to
camp. I let drive and luckily blew his neck oflf. He
was 5 ft. 4 ins., with a sort of hood on his head."
[This was a hooded cobra.] " Indians from the Landi
assert there are two lions in the tinga-tinga we must
try them on Tuesday, with all hands and backsheesh.
Am sending a dozen porters and ' Goldfinch ' to meet
ON THE STONY ATHI
229
you I start early myself in morning to watch the
nyumbo (wildebeest)."
Following is my brother's description of his almost
unlooked-for success with the wildebeests
'The white-bearded gnu, or blue wildebeest, so
familiar to travellers on the Uganda railway, is an
excessively wild animal, yet not difficult to circumvent,
provided a few easily-applied rules are observed.
" Scattered on open plains in herds, or often singly,
;
HOODED COBRA (Naja Juije) Both strikes direct and also ejects poison.
it is out of the question to approach them by any
ordinary stalking, as a very few days' trial will convince.
Besides, it's worse than unsportsmanlike, it's criminal to
fire at animals at 500 yards. If you kill, it's a fluke,
for which you deserve to be kicked rather than com-
plimented.
" I spent three weeks among the wildebeests last year
a fortnight in utterly futile efforts to secure a single
specimen. The first really useful observation came to
us early one morning. We were seated on a perfectly
open plain without attempt at concealment, when day-
light filled the scene, and showed us four or five troops
of wildebeest standing within view. Knowing so well
that they were inaccessible, we remained motionless,
230 ON SAFARI
watching, till presently we began to be touched with
a gradual sense of wonder at their curious inaction-
why should five herds all be standing so precisely alike,
neither feeding nor moving ? What small desultory
movements occurred appeared to be limited to the
hartebeests which accompanied each troop. There
seemed to be a kind of sorting movement afoot. This
alone does not seem to be a very important observation ;
yet it proved, none the less, to be the key to the whole
secret of securing them.
" The wildebeest drink twice daily at sunrise and
sunset ; but the hartebeest being the keener-sighted of
the two, the wildebeests employ these to pilot them-
selves past any hidden dangers that may lurk between
the uplands and the water below. This acknowledged
superiority the testimony of the greater animal to-
wards the less leads in a way to the general undoing
of the whole scheme.
" The process of making-up the watering-parties is
tedious, but at length gradually completed. Then the
kongoni steps out ahead, examining the lay of the land
and scrutinising every visible feature. As he advances,
his confidence increases, and with it a fatal pride of
place. He has made himself confident unduly con-
fident of the safety of his immediate vicinity, as with
head erect and muzzle extended he moves proudly
forward, the thirsty wildebeests pressing nearer and
nearer on his flank as the water is approached. No
' monarch of the glen ' exceeds him then in his lordly
bearing, and the astonished hunter lies spellbound at
the spectacle. The shepherded wildebeests lumber along
behind, all muzzles down what a study in contrasts !
" Under no other circumstances would a hunter
now remain unobserved indeed, it may be added that
under no other could he have attained a dominating
position.
" Once having observed the line a pilot-kongoni is
about to take, that position must be reached ; and the
long delay of the game in ' sorting-out ' allows time
ON THE STONY ATHI 231
sufficient for this. The position, it must be remembered,
is one that will cut off the animals as they approach the
water ; yet it must not be so near as to disturb other
animals that may already be drinking there say from
400 to 800 yards. The configuration of the land
drooping in successive steps towards the lower levels
may assist in acquiring the desired position ; otherwise
much crawling may be necessary.
" Once having attained this position, no cover is
needed, though should there be any, so much the better.
The essential now is to remain rigidly motionless. The
least movement, especially when the game is yet distant,
is instantly fatal the kongoni spots it. The nearer he
comes the safer you are, since he is then looking over
you. Once when the pilot approached so directly that
he almost looked like treading on us, my hunter in his
excitement pinched me so severely that I was obliged
to kick him. In doing so, I not only moved, but made
a slight noise ; yet the kongoni noticed nothing, and a
moment later I killed the wildebeest at the muzzle of
the rifle.
" Another incident illustrates the comparative
blindness of the hartebeests in the pride of piloting their
shaggy friends. This time we had reached a position
beyond which we dare not advance, the ground in front
being burnt and absolutely bare. But we were near
enough too near, as the sequel showed to their final
line of approach. As the game comes in, the hunter
must of course concentrate all his attention on the rifle
and its aim, since no subsequent movement is possible.
At that precise period, say 200 yards away, the pilot
was at least fifty yards ahead of his charge. With eyes
glued to the telescope- sight, I was of course unable any
longer to follow their relative movements. Presently the
hartebeest appeared on the object-glass ; but scarce had
he passed by than the black muzzle of the wildebeest
came into the picture, not one yard behind ! This so
disconcerted me that already the psychological moment
for pulling trigger had gone, the bullet struck too far
232 ON SAFARI
back, and had it not been for a second barrel a grand
bull gnu might perhaps have escaped."
It was 4 p.m. when, on returning from Nairobi, I
rode into camp on the Stony Athi. Ali Yam a was then
already watching a herd of 200 wildebeest assembling
some three miles away, preparatory to coming to water.
After a cup of coffee, we set out at once. The gnu
in long procession, all heads held low, slowly directed
their course riverwards. The ground was open and
unfavourable ; hence we were still 250 yards away when
the head of the column (unaccompanied, this time, by
hartebeest) reached the river and descended the steep
bank. Truly it seemed a " soft job " ! I had only to
await the disappearance of the last beast, and the whole
herd were at my disposal. But animal-instinct is not
so simple. The astute gnus this evening left a single
sentry on guard above, and this of course forbade my
going in. In the result I was obliged to accept the long-
range shot declined before as they left the water, and
secured a fair bull with 22-in. head.
The following day, further up the river, another
chance was presented the gnu being this time piloted
by a single hartebeest as described ; but it clearly
evidences the tense keenness of their instincts that, on
the third day, not a single wildebeest came to water,
whether up or down river ! The chance was over, but
with eight splendid specimens we were content.
January 31. Returning to the standing-camp this
morning, I got another grand wildebeest bull (the ninth)
in this way. We were moving forward in parallel valleys
about two miles apart, W , I observed, pushing
before him a crowd of kongoni, with this single big gnu
in company. Presently the kongoni, hundreds strong,
wheeled towards me, and began streaming across the
ridge on my front ; when, aided by slightly favouring
ground, I got well forward and awaited the gnu ; along
he came with his prancing gallop, but on seeing many
kongoni (which had already passed me, and were in
SPOTTED HYENA.
(AH Yama on right. )
BRINDLED GNU, BULL STONY ATHI.
(Mabruki on left.)
ON THE STONY ATHI 233
safety, 500 yards off) standing " on gaze " he must
needs gaze too. But he, being exactly 245 yards away,
thus received a '450 ball in the forehead ! The photo
on previous page shows him as he fell.
This, and my brother's best bull, each measured over
25 ins. between the inside bends of their horns.
When wounded and at close quarters, the weird and
shaggy wildebeest, with his broad horns and fierce eye,
can present a sufficiently alarming appearance. The
fact was driven home by an incident that occurred in
the Transvaal in August 1899. I had succeeded in
cutting out a herd of some forty brindled gnus coming
to water on the N'guanetsi Biver, and the second barrel
had knocked over a big bull which, however, speedily
regained his legs, when the whole herd bunched together
and disappeared from view, amidst the fringing bush
and forest. The trail they left like that of a runaway
wagon obliterated all individual spoor ; but after follow-
ing it with my gunbearer, Klaas, a mile or so on to the
open grass-veld beyond, a single beast had turned out
to the right, and on this trail we instantly detected
blood. Five hundred yards beyond, while crossing a
stony patch, bare of grass, we were arrested by a roar
and a rush in our rear. Not twenty yards behind came
the wounded bull, dashing towards us a perfect picture
of fury. We had walked past him ; for (as wounded
beasts often do) he had turned back on his heel before
lying down, but on getting our wind beyond, made this
grand effort. Luckily (as I only carried a stick) the
bull's strength betrayed his courage. Klaas handed
the rifle smartly, skipping behind me in the same
movement. But already the acute stage had passed.
Within twice his own length, the plucky beast pulled
up exhausted, his eyes still flashing and broad
muzzle stretched out horizontally towards us, blow-
ing and bellowing. But crimson foam flew from
those nostrils, and by stepping two yards to right, I
got the shoulder exposed and terminated a memorable
scene.
234
ON SAFARI
Although when seen cantering at ease the harte-
beest gives an impression of being stiff and ungainly,
yet when they really stretch themselves out, no animal
possesses freer or more magnificent action, very high
forward. To-day while this troop were crossing my
front at full speed, one beast saw me, stopped dead and
SECRETARY (Secretarius serpentarius}.
turned broadside to the rest those following, each at
one impulse, leaped clean over his back !
Another day we watched two bulls chasing their
speed being terrific and long-maintained. The pursued,
in a quick double, fell, the pursuer at once leaping clear ;
but in the same instant the fallen beast was up and
away back with a clear gain of ten yards !
While lying watching an assemblage of wildebeests, I
was much interested to see a secretary-bird catch a small
snake while in full view. The bird, while among short
ON THE STONY ATHI 235
grass on an opposite bluff, made a sudden spring forward.
There ensued much fuss and action, the great wings
being spread out downwards (as a sparrow-hawk covers
over its prey), while some furious stamps of its foot
were administered ere the reptile was finally pouched.
Also, on the day when I finally secured my first wilde-
beest bull, after following the blood-spoor for hours
almost to the Kikuyu forest I chanced, in a lonely
group of thorn-trees, on a huge flat stick-built nest. It
contained small bones, skulls, and the vertebrae of
serpents, others lying strewn beneath. This I thought
would belong to some eagle or vulture ; but Ali asserted
it was a secretary's nest, and was probably correct, as I
now read that these singular birds do breed so, in trees.
One must not leave the Athi without mentioning
the ticks. They were not so bad in September, but in
January they are a terror, attacking all the softest parts
of one's body, and burrowing into the flesh, till one
resembles a "target." Every day one's tent-boy must
remove them. A much larger variety attacks animals,
and my poor pony "Goldfinch" suffered severely.
These blood-suckers when removed in the morning were
of the size of hazel-nuts. They, in manifold varieties,
also infest the game, and it has been loosely stated that
until the ticks (and the game) are utterly cleared out,
no cattle can thrive here. That, however, needs proof.
Nature has arrayed more formidable opponents than the
tick to man's conquest of the wilds. A first difficulty
will be the want of water. Throughout the 150 miles
of the Athi Plains, there run but these two rivers and
they largely dry at certain seasons. But the wrack and
drifted rubbish lodged high up in the branches of river-
side trees, evidence heavy floods at times. It remains to
be seen if that flood-water can be conserved and utilised.
A minor nuisance to the hunter is the wait-a-bit
thorn. At this season (January) it assumes a soft
velvety-green foliage almost inviting to the touch ; but
woe to the hand that grasps it. An even worse man-
trap are its dead thin shoots, hardly distinguishable
236 ON SAFARI
among the wiry grass; yet unless distinguished and
avoided a great tearing laceration of hand or fore-arm
results ; and wounds in this climate are slow in healing.
Without insisting too much on the heat which on
the equator goes without saying one short conversa-
tion may be recorded. It was just before "lights-out,"
and the morrow's plans had been arranged. No. 1.
"Let's make a special effort to-morrow." Xo. 2. "All
right ; but . . . isn't it rather hot for special efforts ? "
It was.
One evening on Stony Athi, a Wakamba porter
was seized with a severe illness beyond our power to
diagnose, though we tried to treat it to the best of our
judgment. The poor man was evidently in terrible
pain, rolling on the ground. Next day we had arranged
to send him to the railway under escort ; but, apparently
in delirium, he bolted, taking the open veld. We sent
out search-parties, but failed to find a trace of him ;
probably he had found a grave in the hyena's maw.
During January there occurred an outbreak of
" plague " in Nairobi, and a quarantine cordon (against
natives only) was drawn around the capital. Con-
sequently, when, on February 6, we finally left the
fiery veld of Athi, we had to leave the safari encamped
three miles out, W and I going on into the town.
Next morning word reached us that a mutiny had
broken out in our camp. On riding out we found that
these simple savages had broken into our stores
particularly into a case that contained our few bottles
of whisky with obvious results. Amidst much heavy
lying, we ascertained the main facts, and the retribution
that followed was summary and effectual.
HOODED COBKA.
ZEIiUA ON STONY ATHI.
CHAPTER XX
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA RIVER
" In valleys remote where the Oribi plays,
And the Gnu, the Gazelle and the Hartebeest graze,
And the shy Quagga's whistling neigh
Is heard by the fountain at break of day."
PRINGLE.
AMID sultry jungle we pitched camp by the banks of
the Simba River. This spot lies 200 miles eastward
from Nairobi, and being only 3,350 ft. above sea-level
(against 6,000 ft., the mean elevation of the Athi
Plains), is apt to be terribly warm. We had, in fact,
descended to a tropical zone, as was evidenced in every
detail of nature in the changed trees and shrubs, with
their far denser foliage, in the changed bird- and insect-
life, and ... in the heat. This was mid-March.
We had sought this inferno specially to hunt the
fringe-eared oryx of East Africa (Oryx callotis), which
is only found here and southwards therefrom.
The other species, Oryx heisa, is confined to Baringo
and the Tana River and the regions northwards thence
(see Chap. VII.). There thus intervenes between these
two closely- allied species a broad belt of country, say
100 miles in width, devoid of oryx of either kind. A
secondary object (we always have "objects") was the
lesser koodoo.
Simba, at certain seasons, is a great game-country.
In the month of September we have seen its prairies
and forest-opens thronged with troop upon troop of
zebras and hartebeests, gazelles, ostrich and brindled
gnu. But not a single gnu remains in the district in
March, and only an insignificant proportion of the rest.
This is, moreover, a notable lion-country (the name
237
238 ON SAFAEI
Simba means " Lion "), as the following extract, in the
breezy colonial journalism of the Globe Trotter (June 6,
1906), will serve to show
" The lions of East Africa appear to be watching
the progress of civilisation with deep interest, and
nothing has done more to arouse their curiosity than
the trains on the Uganda railway. The railway from
the Indian Ocean to Victoria Nyanza is 584 miles long,
and between the terminal points are thirty-nine stations.
The line is managed on the system of the Indian
railways, and most of the men in the track, train and
station service are East Indians. The Indian station-
agent is known as a babu, and he leads a lonesome life.
Simba, for example, where the lions have been making a
special study of the railway station, has only a station
building, a water-tank for the engines, and a siding, this
being one of the places where trains pass each other on
the single-track road.
" The trouble began at Simba eleven months ago
in July 1905 when the traffic-manager at Nairobi one
morning received this astonishing telegram from the
babu at Simba
" ' A lion has been bothering me for three nights.
He comes up on the station platform and goes to sleep.
Then he walks up and down, scratches on the wall and
door, and tries to get into the office. Please send
cartridges for a Snider rifle by the first train for my
protection. I have blank cartridges, but they are of no
use against lions.'
" This profound observation has the ear-mark of sober
truth. Whether the lion desired to buy a ticket or
whether a fellow-feeling for the lonesome babu induced
him to try to cultivate his acquaintance is not known,
but it is quite certain that blank cartridges were not
appropriate ammunition, and that bullets were in
demand.
" It is to be supposed that these were promptly sup-
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA RIVER 239
plied ; but, if so, they did not make a deep impression
upon the lions, for in August another hair-raising
telegram reached the traffic-manager, as follows
"'Simba, August 17, 1.45 a.m.
" ' Urgent, To Traffic-Manager.
" ' A lion is on the platform. Please instruct guard
and driver to proceed carefully and to expect no signals
in the yard. Tell the guard to advise passengers not to
get out here, and to be very careful himself when he
comes into the office.'
" It is not quite certain whether the babu was chiefly
solicitous for the safety of the guard or whether he
thought that the lion might take advantage of the open
door to come into the office. However this may be, the
distress-signal from Simba had the immediate result of
starting a British sportsman in that direction. He took
the next train for Simba, and under the water-tank he
and the railway-men erected a platform about ten feet
above the ground, where the Nimrod spent several days
waiting for the visitors. His patience was at length
rewarded.
" The first animal he saw was a lioness, that came
walking out of the scrub, very likely for the purpose of
quenching her thirst at the little stream that was leaking
from the tank. When she was within about fifty yards
of the platform the hunter put a cordite bullet into her
and stretched her on the ground. The hunter did not
leave his perch, for he thought something more would be
doing. He was not mistaken. A little later two lions
came out of the high grass, and were soon in great
mental distress over the strange attitude of the dead
female. They kept circling around her body, now
growling, then whining. They hit the body with their
paws, and at last began to drag it away, perhaps with
the idea of awakening her. Just then a bullet ended
the life of one of the brutes, and the other, wounded by
the second shot, sprang into the bush. For half-an-
240 ON SAFARI
hour the sportsman awaited on the platform any signs
of life in the bushes, but detecting no movement, he
descended from his perch.
" He had hardly reached terra firma, however, before
the wounded lion burst out of the scrub and struck the
hunter a blow with his paw which tore the flesh off his
arm to the bone. The hunter was knocked to the
ground, and the lion, which was evidently growing
weaker, rolled over on the grass and then dragged itself
back into the bush, where its dead body was found a
little later. The hunter gave up watching for lions and
sought a hospital at the coast, and the poor babu was
left alone again in the wilderness. He told the train-
hands every day that he could not sleep at nights and
that his nerves were badly shaken. There was nothing
doing, however, for several weeks after the great day
when three lions had been laid low within a few rods of
the station. Then came another nervous telegram
" ' Extra urgent. Track-hand was surrounded by
two lions while returning from signal-box. He climbed
a telegraph-pole near the water-tank. He is up there
yet. Order train to stop there and take him aboard.
The traffic-manager will please make necessary arrange-
ments."
" The track-man, however, succeeded in reaching the
station before relief arrived. For several days the
telegraph wire was burdened only with routine dis-
patches. Then another episode was proclaimed in the
following shape
" ' To guard and driver of down train.
" * Carriage of secretary is on the siding, where he
shot a lion just now, and others are roaring on Makindu
side. Driver must proceed without signals and stop
engine opposite station. Guard must not get out of the
brake- van.'
" Later advices have not yet come to hand, but if any
station-master is finding life monotonous and longs to
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA RIVER 241
have a dull routine prepared with incident and adven-
ture, perhaps he may arrange to swap jobs with the
babu at Simba,"
It may here be worth mentioning that, from the
higher hills north of Simba, on a clear day, both Mount
Kenya on the north and Kilimanjaro on the south may
be seen at once.
Our own objective being, not lion, but Oryx callotis,
we devoted scorching days to the exploration of the
adjoining veld, especially those lovely inset prairies
bordered all round by tropical forest, which are a
feature of this region, and the favourite resort of oryx.
Here we fell in with herds of giant giraffes, sometimes
feeding in the open, at others towering up among the
mimosa thorn-tree on which they browse. These great
animals, however, have never attracted us, and we left
them in peace.
Personally during these days I never set eye on an
oryx, and my brother but once a single animal that,
being associated with restless kongoni, proved inac-
cessible. Next day we sought for him far and wide, but
found him not. To leave no chance untried, we even,
Simba having failed, travelled back to Makindu, twenty
miles, that also proving blank ; then thirty -nine miles
onwards to Sultan Hamud, where we saw superb giraffes,
but not a single oryx at either point. Here, however, I
am anticipating.
The Simba River, with its broad forests and
dense tropical bush, harbours many waterbuck (Cobus
ellipsiprymnus), of which we secured local specimens,
one bull carrying fair horns, though none are really
good. On two occasions, while stalking, we observed
monkeys, and many small birds displayed gorgeous
colours especially the weaver-finches, rollers, sunbirds,
barbets and bee-eaters ; while fireflies on the river by
night made a wondrous spectacle.
On March 19, after spending five hours in vain search
of oryx, at 11 a.m. I shot a couple of hartebeest bulls in
242
ON SAFAEI
easy stalking country, as we were requiring meat for the
camp. This was an ideal park-like country a spacious
vale whose gentle slopes, decorated with clumps of bush,
forest- trees and open grass alternately, dipped away to
a gorge far below the whole being backed by loftier
ranges beyond. While the " boys " cut up meat and I
smoked in the shade (watching a pair of wood-hoopoes
(Irrisor) and wondering at their climbing habit, which
belied the name) my new Somali hunter, Yama, came up
and said, " I see rhino." The beast was on the opposite
hillside, two miles away, standing on a rocky slope where
TWO WEAVER-FINCHES IN BLACK AND GOLD
(Hyphantornis textor, Pyromdana taha).
grew scattered thorns. On one of these trees he was
breakfasting. Abandoning our two kongoni (except heads
and skins), we were soon ready ; but meantime " Kifaru,"
having finished his meal, slowly turned, and still more
slowly strolled along the mountain-side. The thought
occurred to me, watching, that perchance he had performed
that selfsame walk on the morn of Waterloo.
The descent into the intervening gorge and the
passage thereof were of the roughest broken rocks all
intercepted with dongas and terrible brushwood ; and
ere we emerged the rhino had disappeared. In vain we
sought. To the right, in the direction he had gone,
a great ravine rent the hill. This was choked with
euphorbia, cactus and other humanly-impenetrable
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA PJVER 243
shrubs. Had he entered that, he was lost ; but second
thoughts negatived the probability, for such are not the
spots beloved of rhino. Anxious moments succeeded
when, on the stony ground, no spoor could be discovered,
and I directed Yama to proceed direct to the thorn-tree
of the original " view." On our way thither we struck
WOOD-HOOPOE (Irrisor erythrorhynchus),
Brilliant in lustrous reflections of deep greens and purples.
the three-toed spoor, and, following this, soon ascertained
that (as anticipated) the animal had shunned the ravine ;
turning to his left, he had crossed over the mountain-
ridge, or " neck," high above.
Beyond this was a saucer-shaped depression full of
low trees and bush, fairly thick not a comfortable spot
for tracking, as we could rarely see over twenty yards.
Here, presently, we walked right into the rhino in his
244 ON SAFARI
boudoir; we stood actually at seven yards before detect-
ing him within. His chamber was a natural arbour,
four-square, formed by grouped trees w T hose foliage
overarched it above, while green brushwood walled it in
below.
Though so near, we could not distinguish the position
of the beast it was merely the indication of a dark
mass that we saw ; and for several trying minutes we
stood, nervous lest some fickle puff of air might betray
us. Then the waggle of a stumpy tail showed that we
were right under his stern, the beast standing about
two-thirds " off." Gently we retreated backwards, since
such quarters were too close, leaving neither time nor
room to act had we been detected ; and, besides, we thus
gained the advantage of rising ground. When some
twenty yards away, and already nearly full broadside,
my foot in backing touched a stone, and round came
that huge head instantly, the broad, tufted ears deflecting
to catch the slightest sound. It appeared as fair a chance
as was likely to occur ; so I placed a '450-solid six inches
below the visible ear. The indication of a dark mass
vanished ; there was a heavy fall, followed by groans
and thumps as of a Nasmyth hammer. These I saw, on
running forward (lest the beast was merely stunned),
arose from the great head convulsively pounding the
earth. The second shot was then placed in the lungs,
and within a few moments all was over. This was a
huge old bull, exceeding 12j ft. in total length almost
identical with that previously shot at Elmenteita, though
measuring a foot less at shoulder. Even at the first,
distant view, I had noticed that this was an unusually
long low beast. The comparative dimensions of the two
are given at p. 142. The anterior horn of this rhino was
just under 18 ins.
The bedroom bore evidence of long occupation, pro-
truding branches at the sides being all broken off short
whether by accident or design the floor worn flat and
smooth, all made snug and comfortable, as though the
rhino had occupied this koppie for a century. Yet the
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA RIVER 245
beast itself was literally infested with loathsome vermin.
Ticks in solid layers (like mussels on sea-rocks) clustered
inside the ears, armpits and in every fold of the hide ;
while creeping and crab-like creatures crawled and sidled
away repulsive to the last degree. A few yards out-
side this main lair, the rhino had prepared a second bed,
where he could enjoy an open-air siesta. The home-
PORTERS BRINGING IN RHINO HEAD.
ward march, burdened with that heavy head, besides
the two kongoni, occupied three hot hours.
All that evening in camp we had a regular serenade
of lions, concentrating, it seemed, about the locality of
the two abandoned hartebeests. We therefore decided
to reach the spot by dawn, and set out at 4.30 a.m.
On drawing near the scene, after two hours' stumbling
in the dark, as day broke we observed vultures sitting
on the trees above a safe index that something was at
the carcases. Any doubts thereon were speedily dis-
246 ON SAFARI
pelled by the grand reverberating roar of a lion, followed
by a whinnying response both apparently close on our
front, though really 250 yards ahead. At this crucial
moment, as chance had fixed it, AA 7 , misjudging the
distance, and assuming that we were already on top of
the lions, pressed forward "to walk them up" on his
own. Nothing we could do availed to check that im-
petuous fatality. Yama implored me, " Stop your
brother stop not that way stalk." It was in vain ;
signals, whistles, all ignored, it only remained to us to
follow on through grass not three feet high. At a long
100 yards the lion stood up, gazed, and turned away.
W fired, and I then saw the flat head of a lioness
appear above the grass. At my first shot she rushed to
right ; at the second stopped dead, turned and bolted back.
W shouted that both were down ; but that, I knew,
was not the case ; and, on running forward, I got a
clear view of the lion, a magnificent heavily-maned beast,
walking majestically with long-swinging stride beyond
the river, 500 yards away. Against the low-rising sun he
stood out dark, silhouetted as a daguerreotype, his mane
all rough and " touzley," and he walked quite slowly and
unconcerned. There was still a chance to shoot fair,
though remote but so entranced was I with that rare
spectacle, that the rifle was forgotten.
It was over the best chance we had at lion thrown
away. My brother, usually most cautious and pains-
taking, agrees with the facts as above set out, but con-
siders AH more to blame in misjudging the distance it
was kismet, predestined. As Yama insisted, we might,
by a careful stalk, have crept in as near as we cared.
Of course we took the spoor of both lions, assuring
ourselves that neither had been hit. Not a vestige of
the hartebeests remained beyond the vertebrae and some
big bones.
On the campward way we sighted a single oryx (the
first of the callotis kind that I had seen) in company
with hundreds of kongoni. I took the stalk, but failed to
approach within 500 yards. At that distance, through
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA RIVER 247
the glass, this oryx appeared distinctly smaller than
Oryx leisa, of a warmer red in pelt and with shorter
horn. Then the restless hartebeests took him right
away.
We walked into a genet, which, after a hot chase
(once all but run into in the open), escaped by getting
to ground.
Button-quails swarmed in the rushy straths, the same
little birds we had seen in such abundance at Baringo
the kurrichaine hemipode (Turnix lepurana) and the
SILHOUETTED AGAINST THE LOW-RISING SUN.
francolins also differed from those of the Athi. Here
among thick scrub we sprang a big dark-brown species,
Francolinus schuetti, and also observed the large bare-
throated spur-fowl (Pternistes infuscatus). Bird-life,
indeed, was on a wholly different plane, richer, or at
least more in evidence than on the higher table-lands.
The rollers, for example, were here the beautiful African
lilac-breasted Coracias caudatus, with elongated tail-
feathers (as shown in the sketch), replacing the European
roller that we had observed near Nairobi. Similarly, the
hoopoes at Simba all belonged to the Ethiopian race',
Upupa africana, a species new to me, and easily distin-
guished by its dark, unspotted wing and dull-red body-
colour. The British hoopoe, like the British roller,
248
ON SAFAEI
chooses the higher
ground
for its winter quarters,
although I noticed a single common hoopoe at Sultan
Hamud on March 22. An allied family, the wood-
hoopoes (Irrisor), birds of dark plumage shot with
brilliant metallic reflections, and with long cuneate tails,
were also noticeable here, and remarkable for the scansorial
powers they have developed. Twice we observed them
LILAC-BREASTED ROLLER (CorociaS caitdatus}.
A study in vivid blues, greens and chestnut.
climbing on tree-trunks in search of insects, quite like
woodpeckers, as sketched on p. 243. These are noisy
birds, attracting one's attention far away in the bush,
and then, when disturbed, flying off with discordant cries.
Doves and green pigeons ( Vinago) abounded.
It is, of course, impossible even roughly to describe
the bird-life of a wide region on so brief an experience
as ours especially when, during our short sojourn, birds
formed but a secondary object. Still one has always
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA RIVER 249
one eye to spare for unknown feathered objects, and the
following notes may interest.
One small species specially attracted attention by its
strangely vibrant flight, producing a rattling sound as
of some insect. This was a bush-lark (Mirafrajischeri),
and the curious vibrant rustle is a seasonal sign, pro-
duced by the rapid clapping of its short rounded
wings beneath the body as the bird shoots upwards
in spiral flight. The effect is remarkable enough even
in March, but during the breeding season (November)
this singular "drumming" is audible up to hundreds
of yards.
A PAIR OF BISHOP-BIRDS (Pyromelana sundevalli).
Gorgeous in orange-red, with velvety-black points and golden-brown mantle.
Another small bird of brilliant canary-like yellow
also shoots up in air displaying gorgeous hues in the sun-
light, but without the accompanying .vibration. This is
one of the infinite family of weaver-finches, Hyphantornis
subaurea by name. An even more brilliantly-coloured
weaver was also common along the river, a bird of bright
gamboge with orange head Xanthophilus bojeri.
Most of the gaily-plumaged finches one sees prove to
be either weavers or their cousins, the bishop-birds ; yet,
in the reverse, many of this extensive family are quite
dull in colours as, for example, the social weaver-finch,
commonest of them all. The massed nests of these latter,
hundreds under one roof, fill whole trees ; others, as
250
ON SAFARI
before described, build separate pendulous nests each
a distinct structure, but often hanging by the dozen
together. Here at Simba, by the riverside, we found
weavers' nests of quite different architecture. These
were domed nests with side-entrance, neatly fixed on
tall flowering reeds some on a single stem ; others had
two or three reeds passing through their structure.
NESTS OF WEAVER-FINCHES ON THE SIMBA RIVER.
There was, of course, the customary profusion of gor-
geous tropical hues bee-eaters resplendent in turquoise
and carmine ; kingfishers in azure and orange ; golden
orioles ; and, beyond all in brightness, the lovely jewelled
sunbirds. Forest-open and flowery glade gleamed with
these gaily-feathered atoms as they hovered over some
open bloom, alighting for an instant to probe the calyx
with long curved bill. One species had an emerald head,
set off by dark body ; in another the head and back
were black, breast bright scarlet, all glancing with
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA EIVER 251
metallic reflections ; others were arrayed in crimsons
and greens, gold and purples.
Barbets with contrasted colours and ringing voice
are always in evidence, and there were woodpeckers
and shrikes, drongos, babblers and colies. By the river
I got a sight of a bush-cuckoo, and we heard his note at
night. But the only other birds I shall specifically
mention were the hornbills. These were not the big
A HORNBILL AT SIMBA (probably Lophoceros fasdatus).
black fellows of the Man Forest, but of the smaller family
denned as Lophoceros quaint creatures, all bill, wings
and tail. From tree to tree they sweep in silent
undulated flight, alternating half-a-dozen heavy flaps
with long drooping glides. The huge bill, always dis-
proportionate in appearance, on alighting seems to
upset equilibrium altogether, and much flapping and
balancing is often required to restore it. One species,
as roughly sketched, displayed conspicuous white spots
on the wings, and also on the outer tail-feathers. ,
252 ON SAFAEI
MAKINDU
This is a country of close scrub and bush, almost
viewless, and at this season (March) bare of game
beyond a few kongoni, some waterbuck and small
antelopes. There was old spoor of giraffe, and also of
eland, more recent ; but we saw neither, nor any sign of
Oryx callotis, of which we were specially in search.
This dense bush swarmed with guinea-fowl and big
brown francolins (F. schuetti), as well as the great bare-
throated spur-fowl (Pternistes infuscatus], red as
cock-pheasants, that clattered as they rose. There
appeared to be two distinct species of this latter ; and
we also observed hornbills, coucal or bush-cuckoo, green
pigeons, helmet-shrikes with floppy flight, and most of
the other birds already recorded at Simba.
A few miles out, completely surrounded by bush,
we came on the Government farm, where cotton, fibre
and other produce were growing luxuriantly, and where
there was abundant water with a complete system of
irrigation. Yet it was abandoned presumably for some
sufficient reason, though none was apparent. Makindu,
when it formed " rail-head," had some little importance,
but has now fallen from its (never very) high estate.
Since writing the above, I read in Blue-book, March
1907, that Makindu Farm was finally abandoned on
March 31, 1906 a few days after we were there-
owing to the extreme unhealthiness of the site, the
managers and staff being constantly down with fever,
and the whole stock of cattle killed by the tsetse-fly.
"The natives of the neighbouring hills," adds the Blue-
book, with fine official humour, " have confined their
interest in the farm to raiding most of the live stock."
SULTAN HAMUD
A game-like country, prettily situated in a wide gap
between enclosing mountains. Herds of giraffe charac-
GIRAFFES ON ATHI RIVER.
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA RIVER 253
terise this neighbourhood, their chief haunts being on
the south that is, within the "Reserve," though they
wander everywhere. We saw, besides, most of the
ordinary game, but not a sign of oryx. A small
antelope that I hit among bush, merely breaking a
hind-leg low down, gave opportunity for a wonderful
exhibition of spooring by Yama and Salim, who held its
tiny hoof-marks through the roughest ground and long
grass for quite half-a-mile. It proved to be a steinbuck,
female, weight 23^- Ibs. clean. To complete our collec-
tions, we each shot a hartebeest cow or two here (Bubalis
cokei), my brother securing an unusually fine specimen,
the horns exceeding 17 ins. The Coke's hartebeests of
Simba varied in type from those of the Athi Plains in
their darker red pelts and in the form of horn. Those
of the Athi animals are distinctly angular and bracket-
shaped, whereas at Simba the horns display a more
even symmetrical curve, as shown in drawing on p. 254,
which also illustrates the upright growth of the horns
in an immature example of this species. I shot my
second zebra here, a stallion, but smaller than those
obtained on the Athi and in the Rift. Several zebra
seen here were quite red in colour, the result of rolling
in the ruddy soil.
No two zebras are alike in their striping. Not only
so, but each zebra differs in pattern on one side as com-
pared with the other. This is easily seen on examining
a flat skin. Three such lie before me, and in no single
stripe is there regularity or repetition. Though corre-
sponding pairs of stripes start from the dorsal ridge more
or less equal never quite so yet each individual stripe
quickly develops a different form. Should that on the
right be carried continuously down to the ventral line,
its follow on the left will either bifurcate or blend with
its immediate neighbour, whether in front or behind.
Another may break off abruptly, or perhaps be inter-
rupted by a broken white line. Not a single pair runs
similar throughout, though a curious co-relation is nearly
always apparent.
254
ON SAFAEI
This by-play is not confined to the main body-stripes,
but is specially conspicuous in the network of minor
HEADS OF COKE'S HARTEBEEST (MALES).
Left, from the Athi ; right, from Simba ; below, immature.
bands on quarters and legs, where Nature runs riot in
her wild patchwork patterns, all studiedly unequal a
white islanded spot on one side balanced by an open
HUNTING ON THE SIMBA KIVER 255
gulf on the other, or a convolution corresponding with
a break. The one consistent feature is constant dis-
similarity.
Beyond the rocky ranges to the north are splendid
stretches of mixed woodland and pasturage ; but these,
in March, are devoid of game.
The heat at this period passed description, and the
discomfort was accentuated by torrential rain-bursts
daily, producing a plague of vicious- biting insects and
mosquitoes in millions. We, having mosquito-curtains
(mine were rigged here for the first time this year),
partially escaped that terror ; but not a man of our
safari could get a wink of sleep at nights, and general
discontent prevailed. Yama, moreover, went down
with fever ; and we suffered also from an irritating red
rash said to be called " prickly heat " though I
attributed it to a plague of small grey caterpillars with
arched backs that span webs like spiders and so lowered
themselves in shoals from the trees above. We habitu-
ally dined and lived al fresco beneath these trees, thus
becoming an easy prey to these noxious beasts, that
caused irritation wherever they crawled. Then we
began to dream once more of the cool moorlands of
Northumbria and its swirling salmon- streams !
Such were our miseries, that at eight one evening to
avoid delay awaiting the thrice-a-week passenger- train
we fled in a "C.G.," that is, a covered goods-van, an
iron box on wheels, and reached Voi (altitude 1,830 ft),
at 9.30 next morning, after a terrible night's jolting and
shunting on a freight-train. The discomforts of that
night were, moreover, accentuated when, as the train
started, our "boys" shoved into our truck the (very
high) rhino head, which in the darkness had nearly been
left behind on the platform.
256 ON SAFARI
Voi
There is certainly a period when Oryx callotis
frequents this region, and the same applies to Simba
and Sultan Hamud. But March is not that period.
Hence here again our continued search proved fruitless.
Not an oryx was seen. The true home of this species
lies further south towards Kilimanjaro and in the
German territory.
Having secured two Wateita guides who knew the
bush and assured us they could show us at any rate
lesser koodoo, eland, and I knew not what else, we
scoured the bush-country lying towards the west below
the mountains. It was fairly thick, though opens were
interspersed, but at this season almost bare of game
save Hinde's dikdik (Madoqua hindei) and a few
impala.
The presence of game at other seasons was, however,
attested by the numerous game-traps devised in olden
days by the savage mind.
Strong ramparts of aloes, thorns and other impass-
able shrubs everywhere traversed the bush. These had
probably been planted in the first instance, but were
now growing naturally enough, and lying athwart our
path, obliged us to seek a passage elsewhere. This,
however, proved simple, for presently an opening would
be discovered leading through the obstruction. Here
was the trap. This narrow passage-way was occupied
by a deep pitfall. These were now open and conspicuous
enough ; but one could readily imagine how fatal they
must have been to game when deftly concealed by a
treacherous blind of branches, grass, etc.
On the outskirts of the forest lying under the rocky
mountain-range to the west we enjoyed our only view
of the lesser koodoo. It was but a glimpse, for we
" jumped " this beautiful antelope a long hundred yards
ahead, and though we spent the rest of that morning
following the spoor, we saw him no more.
There was old sign and spoor of eland, and still more
of buffalo the latter quite fresli but that was all we
saw of either animal. There were chameleons in this
bush, and I noticed a kind of squirrel not seen before.
Dining at the Dak bungalow one evening were
three white men, all singularly silent and preoccupied.
Various topics were mooted, but all fell flat. At night
we were surprised to observe that two of these men
went to bed in their boots, and with lifles, swords and
such-like lethal weapons at hand. We learned later
that one of the three was under arrest for murder,
the other two being responsible for his safe-keeping ! A
more agreeable meeting was with Eev. J. A. Wray, who
for twenty-three years has worked as a missionary at
Sagalla in the hills above Voi, and with whom we
travelled to Mombasa.
Leaving that port by the Messageries Maritimes'
steamer Djemnah, we reached home towards the end
of April.
CHAPTER XXI
THE UNSEEN WORLD
NONE can wander through this Continent of Africa
without being struck with the evidence of things not
seen. The things one does see so bewilder in their
variety, that to most of us meaning the average
traveller or big-game hunter there remains scant time
for investigating others or even indulging in speculative
thoughts concerning them.
For example, not a book, hardly even a chapter on
Africa but mentions the ant-hills. These are omnipresent
and of all shapes and sizes, varying between conical or
sub-rounded mounds to tall shafts like factory chimneys.
But how rarely does one see an ant or termite anywhere
near them, or building a new one. Did ants really
construct all these ? If so, why are many of the half-
round mounds pierced by dozens of vertical shafts,
several inches in diameter, and connecting below (as one
can see by working into them, or by injecting smoke)
with extensive horizontal galleries beneath perfect
labyrinths ? What can ants want with tunnels like
these as big as rabbit-holes ? Obviously they belong
to some other creature ; but you never see him, though
you may dig for hours.
Again, those twenty-foot factory chimneys aforesaid
are hollow throughout like the real thing and thus
serve the wandering hunter as ovens for bread-baking.
Certainly no ant ever contemplated such a use, yet
none ever appears to resent it. One sees no ants near
them.
258
THE UNSEEN WORLD 259
Such questions may evidence crass ignorance ; for
beyond doubt the lacking answers will be found printed
somewhere, though not on the veld, where I write these
notes.
In that sense, at least, I always assured my com-
panion, who, whenever we encountered some noxious
reptile or extra-hideous insect, would invariably ask,
" Are you sure that that has been catalogued ? "
Then one cannot walk many leagues over African
hinterlands without coming upon holes immense holes,
regular dens. What, in wonder's name, made that ? you
ask. The answer, as a rule, will be, Oh, that's a
wart-hog's hole. Possibly it is ; that is, it is now
occupied by one of those animals. But surely no
wart-hog originally excavated it, for a pig is not a digger
he is not " fossorial," which is, I see, the technical
term ; and has probably adopted a subterranean habitat
owing to the facilities here afforded him of securing
desirable residences ready-made and no ground-rent to
pay in the shape of labour. Jackals also and porcupines
live in holes; so, too, do civets, mongoose and the like.
But all these are small beasties, and none of them require
tunnels of these dimensions. What, I ask again, made
that scandalous hole ? Having silenced flippant super-
ficial theories in respect of pigs, dogs and cats, at length
comes a more serious answer. The excavator was an
ant-bear in Dutch, an aard-vaark or earth-pig. This
I have been so often assured that the solution comes to
bear a sort of impress of truth. But, if so, what
numbers of these beasts there must be ! Yet during my
three years' wandering amongst them, I have never set
eyes on the personality of the said ant-bear, nor met
any one who has done so, or could give even the faintest
description of what the fabled creature was like if you
did see him.
I am not (of course) seriously doubting the existence
of our unseen neighbour. Far from that, since in-
dubitable proof lies before me that some one has actually
captured a specimen and dissected him ! As witness
260 ON SAFAKI
the following, which I extract from Flower and Lydekker's
Mammals : Living and Extinct (p. 208)
" FAMILY ORYCTEROPODID^E
" External surface scantily covered with bristle-like
hairs. Teeth numerous, apparently heterodont, diphyo-
dont, and of peculiar and complex structure, being
traversed by a number of parallel vertical pulp-canals.
Lumber vertebrae with no accessory zygapophyses.
Femur with a third trochanter. Fore-feet without
pollex but all the other digits well developed . . .
suited to digging, the plantar surfaces resting on the
ground in walking. Hind- feet with five subequal toes.
Mouth elongated and tubular. Tongue subvermiform.
Uterus bicornuate. Placenta broadly zonular. Feeding
on animal substances. Terrestrial and fossorial in habits.
Now mainly limited to the Ethiopian region."
Such descriptions evidence the depth and thorough-
ness of scientific research, but hardly help one to form any
rational conception of what the actual animal resembles
in life.
Since writing the above, I have at length met with
the aard-vaark in a glass case in Bergen Museum !
Upon viewing his personal appearance (as here roughly
sketched) regrets at having missed seeing him in Africa
diminished. One almost felt grateful at meeting thus,
on neutral ground.
Another creature which, although common, is
absolutely and always unseen, is the aard-wolf
earth-wolf, in Boer nomenclature. This again is
strictly nocturnal and subterranean in habit. By
description of systematists, he is of the Hyaenas ; yet
with the remarkable exception that his teeth are feeble
and even rudimentary. Strange are Nature's facts
when a hyaena with " rudimentary " teeth has to be
conceived, since one never sees the beast in person.
Ttiis is a handsome animal, as his portrait at p. 113 shows.
261
There are, however, members of this " unseen
world " of which once or twice in a lifetime one may
catch a fugitive glimpse. Thus, as above recorded
(p. 210), we twice saw and once actually captured a
porcupine. Now this animal must be extremely abundant
in Africa ; yet so rarely is he seen that, on my mention-
ing the fact just stated to Mr. F. J. Jackson at Nairobi,
he told me that never once in his lifelong experience of
East Africa and its big game had he so much as seen
a single porcupine alive !
AARD-VAARK SKETCHED IN BERGEN MUSEUM.
Once when " partridge "-shooting over dogs in the
South, my two pointers had " set " dead at something
which their attitude of quivering excitement suggesting
some slight " funk " clearly showed was not the harm-
less fraucolin of our search. Out bounced a huge
brindled civet, looking quite double its natural size
owing to the prominent erectile crest which stuck
straight up along the whole length of the beast, from
nape of Beck to tip of tail. Instantly the hunting
instinct in both dogs steady enough on game
reasserted itself. In short, they broke-in, thus spoil-
ing my shot ; and after infinite digging, shifting tons
of earth from the hole wherein the civet had sought
refuge it made no attempt to " tree " we were
262 ON SAFARI
reluctantly compelled to abandon that prize. The
following month, however, our Kaffirs (this was in
the Transvaal) brought in another civet which they had
killed with assegais quite how, I never could understand.
Another animal of which one may get an occasional
glimpse is the genet, which in East Africa I have twice
chased to ground and once to a hollow tree. On the
latter occasion the gun-bearer who was with me put in
his hand, and though badly bitten, pulled the genet out.
This, however, can hardly be defined as belonging to
the unseen world, being partly arboreal, and on one
occasion in the Transvaal, my friend Ingle, spying one
in the fork of a tree, placed a '303 bullet in its eye, and
the skin lies before me now. Then there are the
mongoose tribes swarms of them ; yet how rarely one
sees these, whether in Africa or Spain. In the latter
land, if attended by one who knows, and prepared with
pick and spade to shift considerable portions of earth's
superficies, one may capture half-a-dozen in a single
burrow. In Africa the only mongoose met with are
mentioned at p. 33 above.
A reclusive neighbour in South Africa (but not so
THE UNSEEN WORLD 263
common iu East) is the ratel (Mellivora ratel), allied to
the badgers, which is another tenant of these mysterious
holes, and which varies a diet of roots and honey by
digging from his grave the lightly-buried Kaffir ; but
which retires long before dawn to the depths of the
earth. Our British badger also possesses a " sweet
tooth," and in summer digs up bees' and wasps' nests.
The ratel, being short-legged like a badger, has no
speed of foot ; and if found in the open, can be run
down by an active man. But once it finds itself
cornered, it turns directly, open-mouthed, upon its
pursuer, in the pluckiest way. Mr. Selous tells me that
in his elephant-hunting days he frequently ran them
down, and in every case they turnecl and attacked.
The above are a few how many more there may be
I know not of the animals whose presence and handi-
work is ever in evidence, but which themselves belong
to an unseen world.
When the " sportsman " in British East Africa
(that is, as so by law defined, the travelling hunter who
has paid up his 50 shooting-licence since otherwise
264 ON SAFARI
the word is to me almost a term of opprobrium)
studies his copy of the Game-ordinances, he notices in
the schedules of game-beasts some names that puzzle,
others that surprise. The white-tailed gnu, for example,
he finds is barred : but that he reads with considerable
complacency, knowing that the species does not exist
(and never did) within some thousands of miles of the
equator ; nor will the express exclusion of the mountain
zebra and the wild ass from his game-list concern him,
since neither of these inhabits the British Protectorate.
The mention of " chevrotain " (Dorcatherium) may
cause a passing qualm ; but it is only when he reaches
" Schedule HE " that he realises to the full the advantages
and powers conferred on him. For in that category he
finds specified both our unseen friends aforesaid the
aard-vaark and the aard-wolf ! True, he is limited to two
of each species ; but within the space of a brief twelve-
month, two might prove more than an ample allowance.
In the next Schedule (IV) the " settler "as
legally distinguished from the " sportsman " aforesaid
is, it appears, prohibited from taking even a single
specimen of either of those reclusive beasts. That may
possibly be ascribed to one of those bright flashes of
humour that are occasionally permitted to illumine
official routine. For it seems conceivable that a settler,
presuming that he was permanently resident and
prepared to devote his whole time to the effort (with
pick, spade and shovel), might, within a year, succeed in
bringing to the light of day one of these mysterious
members of the unseen world ! l
The African scrub abounds with small cats and a
hundred other nocturnals that one rarely or never sees,
and whose very existence eyesight alone would never
give cause to suspect. At one camp we found ourselves
alongside Mr. Vernon Shaw-Kennedy, who, with Mr.
Ateley of the Field-Columbian Museum at Chicago, was
collecting the smaller mammalia for that great American
1 The schedules have since been altered, but perhaps my mild
banter may stand.
THE UNSEEN WORLD
265
institution. The series of mice-like and rat-like creatures,
moles, voles, squirrels and others, arboreal, terrestrial
and aquatic, which they had amassed, was a revelation
to us of the infinite variety of this unseen world on the
minor scale.
WHITE-BEARDED GNU.
Outside span of horns, 28| ins.
CHAPTER XXII
BIG GAME AND ITS BIRD-PROTECTORS
WE are apt to consider a task in hand as more
difficult than a former object already achieved. Thus in
Africa the stalker, crawling over an adamant veld, all
but devoid of cover or " advantage," may recall with
envy recall as easy by comparison the approach to big
game on the rugged highlands or sheltering rock-ridges
of Europe. He may even sigh for the soft sphagnum
through which in Scotland the deer-stalker worms his
final advance ; yet, at the time, the latter cannot be said
really to enjoy the sensation of moss-water penetrating
to his chest.
But in Africa and especially in the South, under
the Tropic of Capricorn, to which regions these remarks
more particularly refer there is a specialised difficulty
attending the stalker that is unknown in Europe. That
difficulty springs from the habits of certain birds, that
make it their business to warn game of the presence of
danger.
True, in Scotland and in Norway alike, the untimely
flight of grouse, or a white hare skipping uphill, may,
and often does, give a clue to otherwise unsuspecting
game. But that is not the specialised difficulty above
mentioned. That is merely incidental, and forms an
everyday risk of the still-hunter the world over. In
Africa that risk is fully as pronounced as elsewhere ; for
here the ubiquitous francolin and guinea-fowl, the spur-
wing and various other plovers (with sundry mammals),
each and all form extraneous sources of danger to the
266
BIG GAME AND ITS BIRD-PROTECTORS 267
stalker. In all such cases, however, the mischief is done
by accident and not by design.
That any birds should systematically set themselves
to spoil sport by warning wild animals of the presence of
man, appears inconceivable ; and the motives that actuate
different species to give such alarm form an interesting
study.
The chief of these bird-nuisances, and the most
persistent, is the little honey-guide (Indicator], a
creature no larger than a sparrow, which latter it also
resembles in colour and general appearance. l Now this
HONEY-GUIDE.
bird's first object in life is to plunder the nests of wild
bees and wasps not for the honey, but for the larvae,
the grubs and the young which these nests contain.
But bees' nests are fortressed in strong places in hollow
trees or clefts of rock quite beyond the reach of small
birds. The honey-guide, however, has reasoned out
this problem to a point conducive to its personal
interests. A human being, the bird knows, cares nothing
for bee-grubs ; but is not averse to a haul of wild honey.
He is, it also knows, usually provided with hatchet and
crowbar. Hence if that human being can be induced to
follow the feathered guide to a bees' nest, he will certainly
1 The resemblance is merely superficial, for the honey-guide differs
essentially from sparrows and all other small birds, particularly in
being zygodactylic that is, it has two toes in front and two behind,
as is the case with parrots, cuckoos, etc.
268 ON SAFAEI
hew open the tree or split the rock, when the bird is
assured of its share of the spoil.
The result, in practice, is fatal to the silent stalker.
No sooner does the honey-guide perceive him, than up
it flies, rattling out a harsh incessant chatter an invita-
tion to man to share sweet plunder ; but a warning of
danger to every wild beast within hearing, for all
instinctively interpret its precise significance. You can-
not drive that feathered fiend away : it follows on from
tree to tree ; you cannot shoot it for obvious reasons. It
will never leave you all day, until you agree to follow it
and do its bidding !
The most aggravating phase indeed humiliating
is when the bird discovers the hunter in the midst of a
stalk, or perchance towards its climax. Then all the
hard work and, it may be, a coveted trophy is lost. In
one moment irreparable mischief is wrought, and the
" lords of creation " are powerless against this insignifi-
cant atom.
Should the hunter elect to follow his guide, it will
almost assuredly lead him direct to a bees' nest. That
was my experience in three out of four instances in the
Transvaal ; in the fourth case it led us to a snake, half-
hidden in a hollow tree. The natives, however, assert
that the bird will at times deliberately deceive, and I
have read that, when refused its due share of the spoils,
it will, on the next occasion, lead up to a sleeping lion
or rhino, by way of revenge ! Such reasoning seems too
complex even for the acute wits of Indicator and (I
quote from a letter in the Field, September 14, 1907) " in
East Africa, the Wandorobo deny that the bird ever does
this, but assert that it sometimes takes you to a dead
elephant that you may get the tusks, or to a dead rhino-
ceros, especially when the animals have been killed some
time and the tusks or horns have not been removed ; also
that it will take you to a lion's kill, but not to a lion.
These savages say that God has given this bird the work
of finding for men things that are lost. The honey-
guides certainly show discernment in never leading one
BIG GAME AND ITS BIRD-PROTECTORS 269
to the hollow logs placed in trees by natives purposely
to attract bees, such hives belonging exclusively to those
who placed them and- never being looted by others,
etiquette on this point being strict." Property and its
rights, it appears, are recognised by these lowest of
savage races.
Twice I lost chances to finish wounded beasts through
this annoying cause, and once a leopard coming straight
in to a " kill," quite unsuspicious, was warned by a
honey-guide in the tree above. It being close upon
dusk, the bird's object, in that case, was clearly distinct
from honey-hunting.
The honey-guides, like some cuckoos (with which
bird-group their zygodactylic feet evidence some affinity),
are also parasitic that is, they lay their eggs in the nests
of other birds, just as at home the British cuckoo foists
its egg upon titlark or wagtail. But in one essential
the two cases are not parallel. For our cuckoo, being a
larger bird of hawk-like appearance, encounters no diffi-
culty in thus feloniously depositing its egg ; while by the
same token, the young cuckoo, when hatched, is enabled
summarily to eject its smaller companions from the
nest. But in this case, the intended foster-parents most
strongly resent the intrusion ; and that not without
reason, since the first object of the honey-guide is to
break all the eggs of the lawful owner before depositing
its own. The two, moreover, being nearly of a size,
fierce fighting frequently ensues. But a truly extraor-
dinary result follows. For should the intrusive honey-
guide so far succeed as to introduce its own egg into the
disputed abode, and yet fail to destroy the eggs
originally deposited therein, Nature steps in with a
physical device expressly designed to uphold the wrong-
doer. For the young honey-guide, when hatched, is
provided with two strong and sharp hooks regular
forceps one on either mandible, wherewith to destroy
and eject its step-brothers and sisters.
The sketch annexed is copied in rough outline from
a photograph of a nestling Indicator (/. variegatus)
270
ON SAFARI
in the excellent Journal of the South African Ornitho-
logists' Union, Vol. Ill, plate i (June 1907), where the
following description of the phenomenon is given
by Messrs. A. K. Haagner, F.Z.S, and R. H. Ivy
"The extremity of the beak in the nestling is
furnished with a pair of hooks which are hard, strong,
and very sharp. These peculiar appendages, which
remind one of the reptile -like toothed birds of Jurassic
and Cretaceous ages, such as Archceopteryx macrura
HEAD OF NESTLING Indicator variegatus (SCALY-THROATED HONEY-GUIDE)
SHOWING THE " FORCEPS " ON MANDIBLES.
from the Middle Oolites, are very curious so far as bird-
anatomy is concerned, and one is led to wonder at the
reason of their presence. We can only conjecture that
they are of use to the nestling when ejecting the young
of the rightful owner of the nest ; as it would, by means
of these hooks, secure a perfectly firm hold of the bird it
wanted to throw out."
The article proceeds to explain that the pirated nests
were invariably placed in holes of trees (such as those
of barbets, woodpeckers, etc.), where the usual method
employed by the young British cuckoo of working itself
under its victim, and so ejecting it, would not avail :
whereas these tooth-like appendages would serve the
BIG GAME AND ITS BIRD-PROTECTORS 271
purpose perfectly. Lastly, it should be added that these
vicious hooks are cast so soon as the young honey-guide
attains maturity.
On the whole, it will be apparent from this short
life-story of the honey-guide that that insignificant-
looking little creature possesses, in fact, one of the most
forceful and vigorous personalities in the feathered
world. All this, however, is rather a digression.
"GO-'WAT BIRDS" (Turacus corythaix).
Great loose fluffy things with huge mop-heads and no beaks*!
Next in order, having regard to the mischief wrought,
come the touracos or plantain-eaters (Musophagiacs),
commonly called " louries " in the Transvaal and
some species of which are also abundant on the Laikipia
and high plateaux of East Africa. These are large birds
of very extraordinary appearance, with huge head- tufts
that almost conceal the short pigeon-like beak, loose
fluffy plumage, and long flirting tails. They abound on
the bush- veld of the Transvaal, two species in particular
the grey loury (Turacus concolor), whose note is a
272 ON SAFARI
harsh " Kva, kva," and a resonant musical call, clear as
the human voice, " Go 'way, go 'way " ; and the hand-
some purple-crested loury (Gallirex) with crimsoned
wing ; besides the curious mop-headed green loury,
Turacus corythaix. It is the first-named that is by
far the most troublesome. I acquit these birds of any
directly malicious intent when perpetrating their mis-
chiefs. Their food consisting of plantains, berries and
arboreal fruits, they have no conceivable interest either
in the big game or its hunters : yet should one of these
o o /
birds perceive a human being, it raises an outcry that
TURACUS CONCOLOR.
speedily brings up any other louries within hearing, all
vying with each other in strident clamour. Any game
within a mile at once decamps.
Another bird-group equally abundant and character-
istic of the South-African bush-veld is that of the
shrikes (LaniidcB). Far away in the wilderness, one
hears a not unmusical chorus ; gentle at first, the notes
grow louder and wilder till they climax in raucous key,
and the performers hurriedly depart, to alight in a mass
on some bare tree. Then one sees that they are magpie-
like birds, black and white, with very long tails. These
are sociable shrikes, 1 and must be counted among the
1 From a specimen brought home, I find that the correct name is
"long-tailed pied shrike" (Urolestes melanoleucus).
BIG GAME AND ITS BIRD-PROTECTORS 273
worst of detrimentals. Although, as just indicated,
these shrikes hold frequent impromptu concerts entirely
on their own account (and which cannot alarm game)
yet it is more than certain that they will also insist on
"addressing the meeting" precisely at those critical
moments of a stalk when their ill-timed chatter spells
sure disaster to the hunter.
SOCIABLE SHRIKE (Urolestes inelanoleucus).
The shrikes, being insect-feeders, habitually attend
the herds of big game, in order to pick up the locusts,
grasshoppers, etc. , that are disturbed by the slowly-graz-
ing animals. Obviously many more grasshoppers would
be set in motion by a stampeded herd in full flight
than by separate beasts sedately feeding. Thus the
shrikes have a direct personal interest (if they knew it)
in alarming each herd of game. That they have so
deeply worked out the problem as to associate the
appearance of a hunter with alarm to the game and its
resultant feast on grasshoppers, it would not be wise to
274
ON SAFARI
assert. But whether these shrikes are actuated by reason
or instinct, or whatever their precise motive may be, at
least to the stalker the result is the same a chattering
crew of shrikes and the clatter of galloping hoofs.
The tick-birds or oxpeckers (BuphaffincB) must also
be included in the category of detrimentals. My own
short experience would not have enabled me so to classify
them, since I cannot remember to have lost a single shot
through their agency. On one occasion I passed quite
close to a rhino, and in full view, when, though the
\
SABLE ANTELOPE ALARMED BY BIRD-WARXIXi;.
great pachyderm was attended by at least a score of
feathered parasites creeping all over his frame, neither
bird nor beast took the slightest notice. I might, indeed,
almost have been inclined to regard Buphaga africana
in a friendly light, since the flights of these birds
passing overhead at dawn have, on occasion, indicated
the presence and direction of game. But the testimony
of far more experienced observers has proved conclusively
that the little tick-bird possesses a full sense of gratitude
towards its hosts, and habitually gives alarm to the
animals (especially rhino and buffalo) which may, at the
moment, be providing it with a meal.
The avocation of these birds, as indicated by their
name, is to subsist on those loathsome parasitic insects,
BIG GAME AND ITS BIRD-PROTECTORS 275
such as warbles, bots, ticks and other vermin, that in
Africa infest all large animals, whether tame or wild.
Thereby, incidentally, the birds tend to rid the suffering
beasts of a distressing and ceaseless scourge. For many
of these vermin, laying their eggs within the hide, are
hatched in a living cradle of flesh and blood, where their
presence creates intense, often maddening, irritation.
The birds themselves are about the same size as our
starlings, of no special personality, and are furnished
with a strong wedge-like beak, well adapted for digging
out their burrowing prey. In colour that organ varies
from bright yellow to pale red.
That Bupliaga erythroryncha is actuated by honest
solicitude for the safety of the wild game, appears to be
demonstrated by the fact that when feeding on the
backs of cattle, or domestic animals, its conduct is quite
different. In such cases, no notice whatever is taken of
the appearance of a human being, and no warning is
given. The bird appears to have reasoned-out the fact
that cattle stand in no danger from the hunter.
There are several other species of birds which
occasionally (whether by design or otherwise) communi-
cate alarm to one's quarry. Among these may be
mentioned the glossy starlings, rollers or blue jays,
colies and rasvogel. Egrets also and buff-backed
herons attend upon game, perching on their backs to
feed upon flies and ticks, and should be named, though,
being so conspicuous and easily avoided, they never give
trouble to the hunter.
In East Africa, one of the most troublesome birds
to the big-game hunter is the black-winged plover
(Stephanibyx melanopterus) , a shrieking peewit-like bird
with a brazen voice and the lung-power of a suffragette.
Many birds, as is well known, habitually "give
tongue " on seeing a strange creature or something they
suspect. At home, all are familiar with the uproar that
small birds raise on discovering a prowling cat or stoat
or snake, or a somnolent owl in an ivied tree. This is, I
imagine, the motive the common impulse to mob any
276
ON SAFARI
strange or suspect object that actuates most of the
birds above mentioned to make nuisances of themselves.
The honey-guide, as explained, has a clear and definite
aim in so doing ; while the shrikes may also, as sug-
gested, have an intelligent motive. But with the rest
it is merely the " mobbing " instinct. That impulse is
all the greater when probably for the first time in
their lives such birds as touracos, plovers, rollers and
the rest observe large creatures like human beings
prone on earth and advancing with secret serpentine
movement naturally they sound the alarm.
Bird-nuisances may thus be divided into three
classes, to wit: (1) Those whose interference is purely
accidental, such as the francolins, guinea-fowls, etc. ; (2)
those which offend from sheer " cussedness," such as
plovers, louries, rollers and that ilk ; while (3) the
honey-guides, and possibly also the shrikes, can boast
a clear and intelligent reason for their (nevertheless)
untimely solicitations.
TUKACUS CORYTHAIX.
FASCICULA
I. RETROSPECTIVE
IT may amuse after a completed venture to return
to the distant standpoint whence a promised land was
first surveyed, and to " reconstitute " the original ideas
and frame of mind. This is the way my brother
regarded an East-African expedition when first proposed
to him in April 1904
"I have just re-read 'Jackson' [Badminton 'Big
Game'], and admit to be a bit disconcerted, though of
course the railway has modified things since that time.
Still he doesn't speak of the Kilimanjaro country being
altogether healthy, and warns against ' flies,' which,
as you know, are death to me. No doubt there was
any amount of game though, mind, I draw a very
distinct line of demarcation between big game and
dangerous game. Elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo and all
such Noah's Ark beasts are outside my schedule. The
more subtle and venomous beasts of the field, I must
just trust to Providence to escape the vengeance of.
The giraffe I regard it as a shame to kill at all, and that
only leaves me the antelopes. To get the bigger kinds,
we shall have to trekk a long way in from the railway,
and I do not think either of us can now do very hard
work in such tropical heat ; and if you go up too high,
there is nothing but elephant and they in impenetrable
forest ! Jackson speaks of the labour [after elephants]
being utterly exhausting. Now, I love big game, and
can sit on a log and watch for it all day, but . . .
277
278 ON SAFARI
However, I must get the rifle loosed off this year. It
doesn't do to keep a weapon that (they say) will drive
through twenty-four inches of solid oak, eating its
head off."
In a later note: "Yes, I undertake to see after
getting the necessary medical stores, etc., but hardly
understand what ' special remedies ' you refer to if by
' horn-pricks ' you mean a hoist by a rhino, the only
useful article I can suggest is an oak suit with brass
mounts." ,
Well, since then we have twice experienced in actual
practice the true degree of all these foreboded risks and
ills. The tropical heats, the mountain- forest, the mala-
rial breeze, the savage beasts and the subtle we
encountered them all, and under a gracious Providence,
have not required the brass-bound suit.
We encountered, nevertheless, during two com-
paratively short expeditions (and outside all such risks
as fever and the like), several instances of tangible danger
from wild beasts, as hereinbefore recorded.
II. DANGER
What degree of danger is there encountered in
African hunting? Many who have not had practical
experience, and whose knowledge is confined to reading,
are apt to exaggerate it. On the other hand, those
who know, perhaps minimise the contingent risks partly
through a fear that they may be suspected of extolling
their own exploits or personal courage. Then there is
that third section those who do not survive to tell the
tale. And one cannot spend much time in Africa with-
out being surprised at the number of " accidents "-
many of them fatal accidents that are always occurring,
and of which no word reaches home. The casual
wanderer, the adventurous spirits of the hinterland,
these meet sudden deaths or die of wounds or gangrene
and no record remains.
My own impression tends to the belief that there is,
FAS6ICULA 279
in almost every case, an appreciable degree of danger
in taking on either elephant, rhino, buffalo or lion.
Occasionally, of course, a "soft job" may be enjoyed;
but such, with these four, cannot be relied upon. So
absolutely dominant, moreover, at the crucial moment,
is the hunter or hunting instinct; so concentrated
must thought and action be on success alone, that every
other idea is eliminated. There is no time to consider
those. Therefore when all is over, and the beast lies
dead before you, one's mind, occupied with success
achieved, is apt to ignore those preceding moments of
crucial, vital import that are past, and which, even at the
time, received no thought. For all that, those moments
may have been critical, dangerous to the last degree.
The rifle has triumphed, but the event might well have
resulted otherwise one turn of ill-luck, a second's delay
or loss of nerve, an ill-judged movement or false
manoeuvre, and the case might have been reversed.
Some of those who have fully realised this latter
alternative may not live to record it. But it is scarcely
wise entirely to ignore it ; nor to give too wide a scope
to the admirable British trait of depreciating danger by
denying its existence. The point of these remarks is to
insist that none should undertake the pursuit of the four
animals named, without first realising that it may, in all
probability, involve a certain degree of risk.
That degree appears greatest in the case of elephants,
since these are quite apt to assume the offensive without
notice, and before being molested at all. So, it is true,
may rhino ; but in their case, the lack of intelligence
(and equally of vice) coupled with very defective eye-
sight, reduces the danger. With buffalo and lion the
chief risk only begins after the animal is wounded,
though it may then become acute enough.
The lion again is possessed of high progressive in-
telligence, quite capable of adapting itself to changing
circumstance. Thus the new system of "riding lions"
to a stand, which is briefly referred to above (p. 216),
appears to be developing in the lions of those regions
280 ON SAFARI
where it is practised such as Athi Plains a clear
tendency to attack when unmolested, a*nd especially to
attack horsemen, whom they are learning to regard as
systematic enemies.
This the following account of a recent fatality on the
Athi Plains tends to show. I transcribe from a letter
from a friend in East Africa
" I regret to tell you that Mr. Lucas of Donyo-Sabuk
was killed by a lioness last week (May 1906). It
happened thus. Lions had for some time been molest-
ing his stock, so he wrote for Capt. Goldfinch, whom
you know, to come over and help him. They were
riding together on the Athi, when suddenly a lioness
sprang upon Goldfinch, rolling horse and rider to the
ground. L. at once fired from his saddle, when the
brute immediately left Goldfinch and sprang on Lucas,
hurling him and his pony over, clawing him in the face,
and mauling his arm so badly that he died a few days
later in hospital. I should add that Goldfinch, mauled
as he was, stood by his friend and fired point-blank into
the lioness' ear, giving her the coup de grace. One
seldom hears of these brutes attacking unprovoked as
this one did. A young fellow has also just been killed
at Nyeri by a rhino. He was unarmed, and could not
get out of the brute's way."
Not only are the four animals named capable by
sheer strength of almost instantly destroying human
life, but they also possess a speed and an activity
beyond what might be expected in such ponderous
beasts. Hence, should the critical moment arrive at all,
it comes in the form of a headlong onset, that, if carried
home, may disconcert the coolest nerve.
III. SNAKES
Of the "more subtle and venomous beasts of the
field" above referred to, East Africa is singularly free.
During the whole period of our wanderings, including
both summer and winter seasons, we did not see a
FASCICULA 281
dozen snakes in all, and the hooded cobra that attacked
my brother on the Athi (p. 228) and was shot for its
temerity, afforded the only instance of momentary
excitement. This snake (Naja haje) not only strikes
with its fangs, but is capable of ejecting its venom from
the mouth.
In that district, during our lion-drives, we saw three
or four fairly big black snakes resembling the European
Colubers, and probably 6 or 7 ft. in length, pre-
sumably black mambas. This was in January, and at
the same season we came across one puff-adder above
Nakuru. A whippy, adder-like snake, also near Nakuru,
but in August, completes our list. It must be added
that although we did not happen to see them, pythons
are not uncommon, especially at Solai and Baringo. At
the latter place Mr. Archer has shot several one of
18|- ft, which had just killed a waterbuck calf, as shown
in photo at p. 290.
In South Africa a very different state of affairs pre-
vails. There, snakes of many kinds abound, including
several dangerous species. The green mamba, 1 for ex-
ample, was specially numerous on the bush-veld of the
North-Eastern Transvaal, where three or four sometimes
showed up together, their vicious heads all raised verti-
cally a foot or two clear of the grass, while they coolly
surveyed the disturber before gliding away in the same
half-erect attitude. These mambas appeared to be about
10 or 12 ft. long, of which one-third is carried erect,
1 An example of the way in which the more advanced scientists
(quite unconsciously, no doubt) work " up in the clouds," high above
the heads of humbler students like myself, and of how little assist-
ance their labours thus render to field-natural ists, is afforded by this
same " green mamba." By that name the snake is universally
known throughout South Africa by black and white, Briton and
Boer alike : yet the name cannot be found (or, at least, I failed to find
it) in the whole library of the Zoological Society. So effectually is
the identity of a well-known reptile concealed under scientific pro-
cedure, that I am unable here to give its proper title.
To christen every creature in our own tongue may require the
ingenuity of a new Noah ; but when a well-known name actually
exists, surely it is criminal to suppress or ignore it ?
282
ON SAFARI
the remainder gliding along the ground. In thickness
they might be 18 ins. in circumference. Being assured
that their bite involves certain death after half-an-hour's
terrible agony (though whether this is true or not, I
cannot say), one could not but regard those gliding
apparitions with a cold shudder and a freezing sensation
around the heart.
Puff-adders up to 4 ft. long, very thick, with flat
GREEN MAMBAS.
toad-like heads, are numerous in the Transvaal, though
at the period of my visit (June to September) some-
what lethargic. From a female, killed July 2, 36 ins.
long, I took twenty eggs, about the size of thrush's.
There were also Ring-hals = ring- necked snakes
(Sepedon hcemachatis) and other species, not to omit
the python. One of these latter which we killed
measured 11 ft. 9 ins., but that is far below their full
size, for pythons of 22 ft. have been recorded.
On one occasion a Shangani " boy " with me pointed
excitedly into a hole leading into one of those laby-
rinthine systems of burrows, made by creatures of the
FASCICULA 283
" unseen world," and therein I saw about twelve inches
of visible python, a foot underground. The extremities
extended for yards in both directions. I borrowed the
" boy's " assegai, jabbed it hard through the beast's body
and deep into the soil beneath then turned and fled.
For one moment, a python's head appeared at another
outlet, then the assegai began to writhe and squirm
before finally disappearing for ever !
Here, in the Transvaal, were also big monitors, or
iguanas, arboreal and terrestrial, some running to 4 and
5 ft. in length quite harmless, it is true ; yet no one
can regard them as congenial-companions. We saw no
sign of these in East Africa.
The latter, moreover, enjoys a happy immunity even
from the major noxious insects the minor, admittedly,
are bad enough. I cannot call to mind meeting with a
dozen scorpions in East Africa, 1 whereas in the South,
each camping-ground had to be laboriously cleared of
stones and other shelter and even then scorpions found
refuge under one's bath ! Only once, however, was I
stung, and that through the misplaced habit (born of
civilisation) of washing every morning. In order to
find my sponge-bag in the dark, I used to hang it on
a convenient tree, and this particular morning the
venomous beast was inside it ! The pain is severe for
twelve hours, and continues in modified degree for
double that period.
IV. THE SAFARI
The equipment of a safari that is, the outfitting of
an expedition for, say, three or four months up-country-
demands much consideration, forethought and organisa-
tion. Both of the first two essentials it is right to say
are fairly fulfilled by the efficient arrangements of the
Mombasa and Nairobi shooting-agents. The third
largely depends on the " Neapara " or headman.
1 Scorpions are, nevertheless, numerous enough in ?andy regions,
such as those of Njtmps and northward therefrom.
284 ON SAFAKI
Presuming that it is intended to penetrate some
distance back from the railway, a force of at least thirty
to forty porters, or upwards, will be required for in
East Africa beasts of burden are not available, owing to
the terror of the tsetse -fly.
Add to these a couple of Somali hunters with two
gun-bearers apiece, tent-boys, cook and cook's mates,
with the requisite number of askaris as by law
required and you have a fair-sized mob of savages.
Now when one's whole thoughts and attention are
absorbed by the primary objects of the expedition, it is
in the last degree inconvenient to the leaders to be con-
stantly called upon to settle details of organisation,
discipline and the like. Yet these matters must be
settled ; and upon their efficient execution day by day
depends nothing less than the comfort and success^ of
the entire venture.
Nor are these duties any slight or insignificant
business. They involve, for example, the provision,
superintendence and daily issue of rations, together with
their due subdivision among the various " messes " ; the
apportionment of loads and other duties, both in camp
and on the march, to each individual ; the setting and
relief, of watches and work-parties for wood and water,
together with the constant maintenance of order and
content, and a hundred minor matters.
All this falls or should fall upon the Neapara
or headman aforesaid. An efficient headman, strong,
insighted and forceful, means a contented safari and a
smooth -running expedition. On the other hand, a feeble
eye-serving neapara wrecks the whole show.
All this, it may be urged, is self-evident. Admittedly
ao ; when put thus in plain words, after the event. But
in practice foresight sometimes fails, and one may only
come to realise such facts when face to face with an ill-
managed mob of half-mutinous savages far away in
African wilds. That event may easily occur should
your headman belong to the second of the two cate-
gories above defined. I speak from experience of both.
'GOLDFINCH" AND HIS NEW OWNER
OUR HEADMAN (ON EXTREME RIGHT), ELMI TO AUTHOR 1 * LEFT, ENOCH BEHIND
HIM, DEAD LIONESS IN FRONT ESCAPED CAMERA.
FASCICULA 285
Our first headman was a born leader and he looked
it. When first introduced at Mombasa to that huge
swarthy personality, vast of frame and truculent of
visage, a tremor of fear let me admit it would scarce
be suppressed. 1 I trust it was concealed. The idea of
spending months in the wilds, in company with that
savage Soudanee, did disconcert for a moment ; but no
long time elapsed before we came to appreciate the
treasure we possessed. Before that iron will (and
obvious power to enforce it) difficulties and troubles
melted like butter on hot toast few, indeed, ever dared
to confront it. Discipline, in savage Africa, relies first
on the moral power ; but when that fails, in the next
resource force becomes the only law.
Long afterwards when far away "out-by," at a
remote up-country station, our friend the official
representative of King and Empire asked us how this
headman behaved ; and on being told that we were
thoroughly satisfied that, in short, the whole routine-
work ran like a machine replied that he was not
surprised ; that, in fact, he quite expected it would be
so. Naturally we inquired if our friend had ever met
this savage chieftain before. " Oh yes ; he served his
term of years here on the chain-gang ! " " The chain-
gang ! What for ? " " Oh, I think it was murder."
Now to any one holding the ordinary British and
altogether admirable respect for the Ten Command-
ments, a reply like this, uttered more or less casually,
gives pause. But on reflection one realises that moral
standards in Central Africa possess a wider basis than
obtains at home. Other countries, other manners ;
savage countries . . . well, not savage manners, but
manners adjusted to environment. The conclusion I
reached and still hold is that in Equatorial Africa,
at the present epoch, you can't have a better headman
than a respectable murderer a murderer on your own
1 His portrait appears at p. 284, on the extreme right. Behind
the author stands Enoch, his tent-boy ; to his left sits Elmi Hassan.
The lioness in the foreground unfortunately escaped the camera.
286 ON SAFARI
side. Remember that your pet murderer has already
expiated his offence and is once more, by law, a free
and responsible member of the African community.
Acting on this conclusion, I wrote, months before start-
ing on my next expedition to East Africa, urgently
requesting our agents at Mombasa to secure for us
once more the services of this same headman ; or at
least, in default of him personally, another precisely
such as he. There might, perhaps, be just a spice of
devilry in this, for our good friends at Mombasa feebly
replied that they would do their best, but that they had
never before heard of " assassins at a premium ! "
Alas for us, their efforts failed ; and our second
headman was a poor forceless specimen, with no soul
to lead or the power to control. The result involved
endless trouble, day by day, in the direction and
management of our safari, such discipline as obtained
being that enforced by ourselves.
The end, as already indicated (p. 236), was open
mutiny ; when the forces of moral suasion had neces-
sarily to be replaced by those represented by the
sjambok. The desired effect resulted.
CHAPTER XXIV
STRAY NOTES ON EAST-AFRICAN GAME
I. ON CERTAIN ANTELOPES NOT MET WITH
BONGO. Tragelaphus euryceros.
The fact appears incredible that any large wild animal,
carrying, moreover, a splendid trophy, should eXisTclose
by as this does at Eldama Ravine, within twenty or
thirty miles of the Uganda railway and yet defy our
best sportsmen. And not the bongo alone, for in these
same tropical forests of the Mau and of Laikipia there
also lurks unseen and unshot the giant forest-hog, that
has been christened (from some fragments of skin and
bone obtained from natives) Hylochcerus meinertzha-
geni. 1
The apparent paradox tones down considerably when
one comes to see the chosen home of these two unknown
animals. It is what is commonly described as " impene-
trable forest ; " and thereby, if language means anything
at all, the mystery is explained at once. But is any
forest impenetrable ? 1 should have doubted the
possibility had I not myself seen these forest-jungles of
the Mau. Penetrable in limited degree, slowly and
laboriously, they may be ; anything beyond that must
be only for the fullest vigour of youth, when keenness
and physical power admit no bounds. That age, in my
case, having already been doubled, the uncompromising
1 My friend Mr. Rowland Ward writes me that one or two
examples have quite recently (June 1908) been secured in British
East Africa one by Col. Watkins Yardley in the Kenya district,
and a fine boar in the Mau Forest.
287
288 ON SAFARI
epithet must be admitted to me, those forests are
impenetrable.
The bongo is a big beast, one of the heaviest of the
antelopes, standing 4 ft. at the shoulder and carrying
massive upright horns approaching a yard in length.
These, from their flattened, abruptly twisted form and
curve, clearly demonstrate the owner's affinity with the
bushbucks ; and the bongo, in systematic classification,
stands between that genus and the inyalas, or harnessed
antelopes. The existence of this animal was first made
known to science by Du Chaillu, who brought home a
skin from the Gaboon in West Africa ; and a mounted
specimen, a splendid bull, obtained by Mr. Isaacs,
formerly Commissioner at Eldama Ravine, may be seen
in the galleries of South Kensington. This animal was
followed persistently by native hunters with dogs and
spears till eventually, so densely grew the jungle, that
not even a bongo could further go. There it was over-
taken and killed. Other specimens have been obtained
by the same means ; but I believe that Mr. Isaacs did
not himself succeed in shooting a bongo. A female has,
however, recently been shot by Capt. Stigand, of the
King's African Rifles, in the Kikuyu Forest between
Limoru and Escarpment thus extending the known
range of the bongo to the eastward of the great Rift
Valley but leaving the bull bongo as yet unshot.
Curious, yet not luminously intelligent, is the popular
interest displayed in such subjects. Some little time
ago the discovery of the okapi in the Congo forests
aroused almost an enthusiasm. Hardly a man, woman
or child but knew all about the okapi; yet here in
British territory we have two' great unknown animals
quite as interesting, but it is doubtful if one reader in
a hundred will ever have heard of them !
SITUTUNGA. Tragelaphus spekei.
A water-loving antelope, confined to dense swamps
and beds of papyrus, chiefly, it appears, in the region of
Victoria Nyanza and upon one of the Sesse Islands in
STKAY NOTES 289
that lake. (See The Great and Small Game of Africa,
by Mr. Kowlancl Ward, p. 477.)
GERENUK. Lithocranius walleri.
Kemarkable in appearance with its abnormally
long, giraffe-like neck the gerenuk is equally remark-
able in distribution. Its head-quarters are in Somaliland,
thence spreading southwards through (British) Jubaland
to the Tana River ; but there it stops. Broadly speak-
ing, no gerenuk are found throughout the central zone
of British East Africa (that is, the line of the Uganda
railway). But to the southward, leaving a blank belt
of 100 miles or more in breadth, these antelopes turn
up again on the Seringeti Plains, south of Voi, and
thence westward, skirting the base of Kilimanjaro, and
beyond into German territory.
Since writing the above, my friend and Spanish
shooting-partner, the Marquis de la Scala, who with Mr.
R. de la Huerta and the Duke of Penaranda, has just re-
turned from a most successful trip in British East Africa,
writes me : " We only came across this species once, up
north near the junction of the Guaso Nyro and Guaso
Narok. I was lucky in bagging the only individual we
saw, and it happened to be a male. We heard of several
being got near the German boundary ; and on our
journey back towards the coast, we saw one from the
railway carriage window near Sultan Hamud."
HUNTER'S ANTELOPE. Damaliscus hunteri.
On the Tana River only and northwards therefrom.
TOPI. Damaliscus jimela.
This species we had included in our programme ; but
were prevented from reaching its habitat on the Man
Highlands owing to the outbreak of the Nandi rebellion.
The topi is not uncommon there, but more plentiful on
the Tana River and in Jubaland. This antelope, like
its South-African relative, the tsesseby, is beautifully
290 ON SAFARI
marked with black points, shading away during life into
glossy purple reflections like the bloom on a ripe grape,
A tsesseby bull happened to be the first big beast that
fell to my rifle in Africa, and that lovely coloration
remains fixed in my memory.
ROAN ANTELOPE. Hippotragus equinus.
This has always been considered a rare animal in
East Africa ; yet we might, with luck, have met with it
at various points in our travels say on the Athi, or in
the country between Nakuru and Baringo but such
good fortune did not befall. Small herds are known in
the Lumbwa Valley, towards Muhoroni and Kibigori ;
while southwards therefrom, the roan is said to be fairly
numerous on the Guaso Nyero and thence towards the
lake.
My specimens are from South Africa.
The Marquis de la Scala writes me : " We shot three
roan on the Thyka River, left bank the first at the
back of Donyo Sabuk. That herd, however, is very
poor, and is now preserved. Other parties got roan,
quite good heads for the country (28 ins. and 27 ins.)
near Muhoroni."
SABLE ANTELOPE. Hippotragus niger.
Found only in the coastal region, particularly on
the Shimba Hills, a few stations up the line from Mom-
basa ; and in no great numbers two or three small
herds and poor in head, 36 ins. being the best.
Having much better specimens from the Transvaal, we
did not try for sable in East Africa. My two best
sable bulls, shot in the Lebombo bush- veld, measured
and 42 ins. respectively ; and I had a female of
ins. These three, together with many other fine
trophies, the results of three months' hunting, I lost
through the outbreak of war in the Transvaal October
1899. My two companions, however, suffered infinitely
STRAY NOTES 291
worse ; for one brother, Reginald S. 0. Ingle, joining
the Imperial Light Horse, was shot dead before Vry-
heid, May 20, 1900 ; while J. C. Ingle was seized and
held prisoner in Lydenburg gaol for eight weary months.
Escaping thence he did good service as Intelligence
Officer with Bethune's Light Horse. But by way of
reprisal, the Boers burnt down his house and store,
MY FIRST VIEW OF A SABLE BULL. "JUMPED UP WITH A SNOUT."
with all it contained including my forty - four
trophies !
KOODOO. Strepsiceros kudu.
We did not try for this, though Bariugo is a well-
known locality. Its haunts there are among specially
stony mountains piles of rugged boulders, hidden
amidst wiry grass and ornamented with thorny creepers,
the hardest of " going." The most deadly enemy of
the koodoo in that region is the hunting-dog, which
destroys more than all the licensed sportsmen put
together.
My own heads are from Mashonaland and the
Transvaal.
292 ON SAFARI
LESSER KOODOO. Strepsiceros imberbis.
The Marquis de la Scala sends me the annexed photo
(together with that of a rhino at p. 178), and writes : " We
stayed for three days at Mitito Andei and bagged three
of these animals. I only saw one really good head in
all the time, for ours are only 24 ins. the best. The
great difficulty is in seeing these antelopes before they
see you, for their peculiar coloration and the thickness
of the bush makes them all but invisible."
II. ON THE ALERTNESS .OF GAME
All wild game are by nature watchful and alert.
Never, for a single moment, is the contingency of danger
entirely absent from their minds : and this is reflected
in every attitude and expression. But in East Africa,
where man is but one (and that a minor quantity) amidst
numerous more dreaded enemies, those characteristics are
accentuated to a degree that, it may be, lies beyond the
power of pen or pencil to depict.
Parenthetically may be added the remark that the
man who would match himself against such animals
must also be alert.
Illustrative of this point : How rarely does one
here see game lying down, or in positions of complete
repose ? True, during months spent on the open veld,
one does occasionally view such scenes ; but they are
exceptional. One can almost recall to mind each
instance.
These remarks, of course, do not apply to the great
pachyderms which have nothing to fear save man
alone ; and in minor degree to buffalo, which, being
nocturnal in habit, lie down all day, but usually in the
densest and most impenetrable jungle. The rhino takes
his daily siesta quite openly, often lying down beneath
some solitary tree in quite exposed situation. Yet,
curiously, the elephant never lies down. In all his long
experience, Arthur Neumann (if I remember aright
LESSER KOODOO.
(Marquis de la Scala.)
A, -'-In -,; Photo.
AN 18-FT. PYTHON WITH WATEKBUCK CALF IT HAD KILLED.
STRAY NOTES 293
what he told me) had only once seen an elephant
lying.
I cannot call to mind ever seeing either wildebeests
or zebras do so in East Africa; though several such
instances recur to memory in the case of sing-sing,
waterbuck, gazelles, and (more rarely) of hartebeests
and impala. The habit is more or less casual and
accidental not as in Europe, where one sees the deer
(of all kinds), and goats also, regularly lie down by
day.
On writing to my brother to confirm or confute
these remarks, he replies : " It seems to me quite
correct. One never sees game asleep. The best
instance I can remember was on the Molo at Ya-
Nabanda, where, to the west of the river, I found a
company of Jackson's hartebeests all lying down on a
bare patch of red soil that exactly assimilated with their
own colour. The details impressed themselves on my
memory ; for when I had stalked to within 250 yards,
there intervened a belt of long grass through which I
intended to creep close up ; but in it there were some
zebras feeding. After waiting a long time, as the zebras
did not move, I sent Mehemet back, telling him to go
round in a circuit to the windward, without showing.
Soon after he had gone, the zebras suddenly threw up
their heads and cantered off the hartebeests, of course,
also jumping up and moving away. Mehemet was back
almost immediately, looking scared out of his wits. He
said he had come on two lions stalking the zebras, and
on looking in the direction he pointed out, I certainly
saw some animal ' louping ' away through the grass,
but too far to distinguish. This was, so far as I can
recollect, the only instance of seeing a herd of harte-
beests (though I once or twice saw single animals)
lying down."
W- adds : " That zebra you fluked (see p. 107)
was certainly standing asleep, and I never did see
zebras lying down."
It should, however, be added that during the intense
294 ON SAFARI
heat of midday, when game would be most likely to lie
down, we, as a rule (but not invariably), retired to our
tents and laid down ourselves.
This high development of alertness in East- African
game is clearly due not to the influence of white man,
who has only hunted here during the last few years, but
to the presence of their innumerable natural enemies.
PROTECTION OF BIG GAME
(SPECIALLY IN RELATION TO BRITISH EAST AFRICA)
A MAIN outstanding danger to big game lies in its
abundance. Its very numbers deceive ; and especially
does that remark apply in Africa, where many of the
larger animals live conspicuous on the open plain.
It is not matter for wonder that new-comers, or
settlers (men, it may be, who have never before in their
lives seen game, great or small), conclude that, amidst
abundance, they may slaughter without stint.
But are the thoughtful among us never going to learn
the obvious lesson shall we always blind our eyes to
the staring examples of the past ? Whole faunas, as
rich as those that yet survive, and richer, have been
swept off the face of the earth during our generation and
under our eyes. Witness that abominable massacre of
the bison on Western- American prairies. That was
accomplished in a single decade in the 'eighties.
Witness, again, the destruction of the reindeer in Norway
in the 'nineties. That piece of barbarism occupied but
five years the five that succeeded the introduction of
cordite and cheap repeating-rifles. Witness, thirdly, the
tale of ceaseless slaughter maintained during half-a-
century on South-African veld whole genera and
families of beautiful creatures decimated or extirpated
root and branch by a merciless Boeotian race and scarce
a record left behind.
After the mischief has been done the world laments
it. Herculean efforts are then made to preserve a few
wretched remnants. Crocodile-tears flow in scientific
295
296 ON SAFARI
places. With these efforts and those tears I have scant
sympathy. What is wanted is something more practical
than tears the energy to wake up while yet there is
time, to assure the safety and well-being of those
faunas that still survive, and to render any repetition
of such barbarities impossible, at least on British soil.
Practical measures, plus the power to enforce them,
are the one essential; and these must be taken in
advance. Doctors avail not when the patient is dead.
In British East Africa, along with our highland
domain, we have succeeded to a faunal inheritance that
is second to none now surviving on earth. 1 That splendid
asset it is nothing less than our duty to hand down
unimpaired and unencumbered to future generations-
subject always, it goes without saying, to the necessities
of white settlement -and colonisation.
At the moment no very serious danger threatens.
The Game-ordinances of the Protectorate are essentially
practical, and the one weak point a shortage in the
power to enforce them is being remedied. These
ordinances, it is pertinent to point out, were drawn in
the first instance (and amended as circumstances dic-
tated) by men who, better than any other, understood the
necessities of the Colony ; first, of course, in relation to
its white population, while yet in sympathy w r ith the
aborigines whether wild beasts or savage men.
The chief danger to big game in all lands and at all
times has been the use of the horse. Riding-down game
O O
and then shooting at random into flying herds is the
worst of all barbarisms to say nothing of its being the
most wasteful. My own experience demonstrates that
for each head of game killed by this method, an average
of five or six others escaped wounded, to die uselessly on
the veld.
That combination of horse-and-rifle together I utterly
condemn. It is unsportsmanlike, since not one man in
a hundred can be trusted (or can trust himself) to act
1 It is equalled, nevertheless, in British Central Africa in
Barotseland, Nyassaland and Northern Rhodesia.
PROTECTION OF BIG GAME 297
fairly under its circumstance. The system is essentially
unfair to game ; and, directly and indirectly, is respon-
sible for the decimation of the Southern herds. I would
earnestly urge that this "riding-down" of game be
made illegal in our territories. Hitherto, the vice has
barely made an appearance ; but it is wise to look ahead,
and prevention will save cure.
Personally (though this is, I fear, a counsel of per-
fection) I would also prohibit the use of repeating-rifles
on game. These are military weapons, and should be
barred as unfair in the field of sport.
A minor menace to game, ever recrudescent during
periods of passing depression, is a tendency in disap-
pointed settlers to grumble at its bare existence.
Precisely why game should cease to exist when " things
are bad " is not explained. That is merely an evidence
of " original sin " in human nature.
Here is a modern instance. But two or three years
ago, the traveller-sportsman was received in East Africa
with open arms, welcomed as a benefactor and a power ;
the newspapers rapturously applauded the coming of
this or that Nimrod, recorded all his movements and
exploits ; he was, in short, received en prince and
charged as such ! As a simple matter of fact, the
traveller- sportsman was (and still remains) the best
customer of the Colony ; while the game is still its best
asset.
But a change has come over the spirit of this dream.
Our friends in East Africa have " boomed " overmuch ;
their speculations were unduly sanguine, and they are
passing through the consequent reaction financial
crises, lack of credit, and that sort of thing. Of course
the fault cannot be theirs ; a scapegoat must be found,
and " the game " will serve the purpose. The local
newspapers out there, which, a year before, brimmed over
with praise of " the glorious game," now sing in opposite
key. They see (or pretend to see) a specific for the ills
of over-speculation and faulty foresight, in the destruc-
tion of the Colony's one asset of present current value
298 ON SAFARI
the game ! They advocate violent changes, relaxation
of the game-laws, reduction of " sanctuaries," and so on.
The logic of this is sultry, as befits its tropical birth-
place ; let us turn to lighter vein.
" Of what possible use is the rhinoceros ? Like the
bull in a china-shop, he is far more dangerous than
picturesque ; he can walk through a fence as a nigger
through a melon-patch, and is far more destructive.
What good are such beasts as the hippo, lion, leopard,
and buffalo ? All can only be classed as the most
dangerous vermin " ! Somewhat grotesquely, these cogi-
tations are still prefaced by the declaration that " for the
preservation of the fauna of this country, none is a
stronger advocate than the Editor."
Now, my dear Mr. Editor, have you seriously
considered that if you, in a passing fit of "the blues,"
decide on exterminating the rhino, the lion and all the
rest, that that crime will remain irreparable till the end
of time ? While there is, on the other hand, no evidence
of any failure in the race of editors. There are ingrates
who might rejoice to see a few more rhinos and fewer . . .
say thoughtless scribblers.
Here is another question from the same source :
" Why should vast tracts be reserved as sanctuaries for
game, and the sturdy immigrant with moderate capital
be forbidden to settle thereon ? " Well, I will answer
that question. Those tracts were delineated years ago
(by experts who knew by long years' experience what
they were doing) as absolutely uninhabitable by man
white or black. The absence of water, the presence of
tsetse-fly, malaria and such-like natural causes preclude
these regions ever being settled upon. They are useless
for any other purpose, and are therefore reserved for
game. If you, my " sturdy immigrant," don't know
this, it is clear you need some one to tell you for your
own advantage. But, quite possibly, you do know it
all ; yet still want to settle on forbidden ground merely
because it is forbidden out of sheer " cussedness," in
short. Again, it is conceivable (to those who have been
PROTECTION OF BIG GAME 299
there) that some may even wish to settle on waterless
Reserves with an idea of getting superior shooting
what time that " moderate capital " lasts !
The chief Game-Reserve attacked in these ad
captandum lucubrations (indeed, the only one, since
the others are as yet merely nominal tracts far beyond
any present question of white occupation) is the great
ATHI PLAINS RESERVE. Now the contention that white
men are prohibited, in the interests of game, from
settling upon these Athi Plains is childish nonsense,
designed in most instances to deceive the ignorant, or
worse still to create prejudice. For the Athi
Plains are uninhabitable by man, whether white or
black, by reason of the absence of water. They extend
over upwards of 100 miles in length east and west, and
throughout that vast stretch there is no permanent
water between Makindu at mile 209 and the Athi River
at mile 311.
What is the sturdy immigrant going to do here ?
He could not survive for a week, nor could his cattle.
Then how, you ask, do those vast herds of game survive ?
The bulk of these, I reply, require no water. Nature
has so designed her creatures that, for many, the
abundant night-dews suffice to quench thirst. These
never drink, though some have means of quenching
thirst in certain bulbous water-bearing roots that they
dig up from underground. The others migrate. The
blue wildebeest, for example, and the zebra drink twice
daily. Both these species may be seen thousands
strong on the Athi Plains one week or one month ; the
next they have disappeared. Hardly one remains.
They have moved away perhaps hundreds of miles
across country to the nearest permanent water. The
sturdiest settler cannot do this. He must stay where he
is and die.
We will assume that our friend the immigrant
admits these simple facts as regards the Athi Plains.
He abandons that waterless downlaud, but still contends
that he is prohibited from settling in the bush-country
300 ON SAFARI
to the east, where water exists in abundance, but
which is still within the Game-Reserve.
Let such men read Blue-book No. 519 the "Colo-
nial Report on East Africa for 1905-6 " (price seven-
pence, Wyman & Sons, Fetter Lane, E.G.). Therein
will be found set forth the reasons which compelled the
Government to abandon their attempt to farm at
Makindu. With all its resources of British credit, that
experimental farm utterly failed to succeed : (1) Be-
cause the tsetse-fly killed all the oxen and other stock ;
(2) because malarial fever constantly prostrated both the
superintendent and the labourers !
If, before entering on specious argument, people
would take the trouble to master these solid facts
(ascertained by practical experiment at the public cost),
instead of airing their own silly superficial theories, we
should hear no more of the cant about game, on the
one hand, or " sturdy immigrants," on the other.
No sane man has ever advocated that the interests
of game should take precedence of the interests of white
man, or that areas available for settlement should be
reserved for game. But there are areas such as the
Athi Plains not available for settlement. On these it
is our plain duty to see that fair-play is extended to
God's beautiful wild creation.
Lest I be suspected of partiality, let me quote a
recent message on this point from President Roosevelt
to our SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE FAUNA OF
THE EMPIRE : " It is perfectly evident to any intelligent
man that the people who are protesting against what
they call ' the curse of the big game ' do not know what
they are talking about. We have just such people in
abundance here in America, and I have for twenty-five
years waged war upon them in connection with game-
protection."
I have selected East-African sources for these
strictures inasmuch as it is just this sort of rubbish that
is copied into our papers at home, with the result of
making confusion worse confounded. There follow
PROTECTION OF BIG GAME 301
puerile questions in Parliament frequently framed to
mask some secondary object and the replies given at
least illumine the outer darkness that reigns in some
official minds in Whitehall.
Next we have trotted-out (and, mind you, not as
theories or even as honest beliefs, but set forth cate-
gorically as solid facts, proven and beyond doubt) all
those rule-of-thumb traditions that game transmit
diseases or the germs thereof. Statements are made in
positive terms that such-and-such a species conveys
infection of a particular kind say " East-Coast fever "
that another contaminates by ticks or similar parasites,
and so on. Witness the tsetse-fly, for example, and the
acres of theory written on that insect by men who
possibly never spent an hour on the study of its life-
history and economy.
Now here, at any rate, we touch questions and
problems of serious importance ; and such shall not be
treated in any spirit of levity. None will deny that
there may exist foundation for such ideas. They may
be correct or they may not. But until the questions
have been subjected to the test of scientific inquiry, it
is mere prejudice to proclaim them as facts.
These are complex points in biology. They involve
nothing less than the whole spacious question of human
interference with Nature's balance of life over vast areas
never hitherto subjected to the dominion of civilised
man.
The determination of these, with other analogous
points, is of the first importance to the development on
pastoral lines of our dominions in Eastern Africa ; and it
is the duty of the Home Government towards its African
Colonies to appoint technical experts to study these
questions on the spot. Such investigation would
involve prolonged research probably extending to
years. In the meantime, all opinion is merely specula-
tive, nothing more than guess-work; and to condemn
the game beforehand is some degrees more absurd than
hanging a man first and trying him afterwards.
302 ON SAFARI
I began by saying that their apparent abundance
was in the nature of a menace to big game. So it is ;
for they cannot exist in face of excessive shooting. All
experience the world over clinches that fact. Compare
the physical conditions of large game with small. The
latter, with their large broods and early maturity,
increase by three- or four-fold each year ; and of that
increase the greater proportion is available for human
use. Large animals, on the contrary, with their single
young, or perhaps two at a birth, and their years of
immaturity, increase but slowly ; while of that increase
at least two-thirds (in Africa) is needed for the support
of lions, leopards and other carnivora. The proportion
remaining for the use (or sport) of man is necessarily
small. It certainly cannot exceed five per cent., and I
would not myself estimate it at more than three per cent,
per annum on the entire stock. A recognition of these
facts by hunters and settlers would go far towards
perpetuating the big game of British East Africa. If
regarded merely as targets for rifle-practice, the game
will go, and that soon.
The future of the game depends largely on the
settlers. Now most Britishers possess (more, at least,
than any other race) imbued in their hearts the true
spirit of a sportsman. Latent it may be, but true none
the less, and I venture to ask them to accept from me
this definition of a sportsman : " One who loves game
as though he were the father of it."
APPENDIX
ROUGH VELD-NOTES ON BIRD-LIFE IN BRITISH
EAST AFRICA
IN Equatorial Africa a British, or even a European, ornitho-
logist finds himself transplanted from his (more or less) familiar
Palsearctic avifauna and plunged into a totally new bird-world
that of the " Ethiopian Region."
Strange forms and new families in bewildering variety meet
one's eye at every point. Former knowledge and experience
help but little. One must begin the new study ab initio.
Under such circumstances, the utility of printing cursory
observations made during two limited periods (though these
include both the summer and winter seasons) may be doubtful
the more so, as our own main objective having always been the
big-game, that alone precluded the. handling of bird-specimens.
Hence most of these rough notes, and all the sketches, were
made solely from observation of their subjects in the open field
never a sufficiently accurate basis.
The assistance of my friends on the spot, Mr. F. J. Jackson,
C.B., Lieut.-Governor of British East Africa, and Mr. Geoffrey
F. Archer, District-Commissioner at Baringo (now at Mumias),
and of Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Graut at home, have encouraged me to
add these bird-notes and bird-sketches, in the hope that (while
admittedly valueless to " advanced " scientific ornithologists)
they may yet interest and perhaps even instruct ordinary bird-
loving readers both at home and in Africa.
Further to increase the difficulty of the subject, it may be
added, there are in Equatoria two distinct breeding-seasons, one
lasting from October to December, the other in April and May.
The bulk of the Passeres, however, appear to prefer the former.
Many notes on birds having been already included in the
303
304 ON SAFARI
narrative, I have inserted, in the following list, page-references
ill nearly all such cases, in order to avoid repetition.
GAME-BIRDS
FRANCOLINS
These are the chief Game-birds of Africa, and not ap-
preciably dissimilar from our Partridge and Grouse of Europe,
whether in flight or in general appearance. The number of
species recognised throughout this continent runs into scores, of
which a dozen are found within our limits. We met with the
following
TRUE FRANCOLINS
1. Ulu Francolin Francolinus uluensis. This is the bird of
the Athi Plains. Interrupted collar of black and white.
2. Grant's Francolin F. granti. At Baringo, a small species.
3. Coqui Francolin F. coqui. In the Rift Valley, found in open
country. A small, thickset, short-tailed species, size of
English partridge and of equal wing speed ; lies close and
rises in coveys. This is the " Swimpi " of Transvaal.
4. Schuett's Francolin F. schuetti. Abundant in the thick
bush at Makindu, Voi, etc., also at Naivasha. A big dark-
brown bird, buff below ; with double spurs.
5. Hildebrandt's Francolin F.hildebrandti. Also in the bush-
country at Makindu and on the Tana. The sexes differ so
much that they were originally described as separate
species. The northern form of the " Natal partridge."
Besides these, Mr. Jackson has also recorded the following
6. Ring-necked Francolin F. streptophorus. Below Mount
Elgon. It is distinguished by the ring of black and white
feathers round the neck. No spurs.
7. Elgon Francolin F. elgonensis. Shot on Mount Elgon at
11,000 ft. A northern form of the well-known "Red-
wing Partridge " of South Africa, but darker.
8. Jackson's Francolin F.jacksoni. Masailand. The largest
species of all. Bill and legs coral-red ; single spurs.
APPENDIX 305
SPUR-FOWL
Strictly speaking, the name " Spur- Fowl " is applicable only
to an Indian genus, that of Galloperdix. It has, however, been
adopted in East Africa for these bare- throated Francolins.
9. Cabanis' bare-throated Spur-Fowl Pternistes infuscatus. In
thick bush at Sultan Hamud, Makindu, Voi, etc. A big
bird, and noisy. Male has double spurs.
10. Humboldt's Spur-Fowl P. humboldti. On Tana.
QUAILS
Three species are found
1. European Quail Coturnix communis. Scarce.
2. Harlequin Quail C. delegorgwi. Under-parts ruddy chest-
nut ; throat black. Abundant.
3. Kurrichaine Button-Quail Turnix lepurana. On lower
levels, as at Siniba, Baringo, etc. Abundant.
GUINEA-FOWL
Four species are found, to wit
1. Reichenow's Large Heltneted Guinea-Fowl Numida reich-
enowi. This is the common kind. The huge bony crest
or " helmet " stands vertically upright, as sketched on p. 16.
Bare skin of face blue, wattles bright red.
2. Abyssinian Helmeted Guinea-Fowl N. ptilorhyncha. From
Baringo northwards. Abounds in packs of from 50 to 100
and upwards in the thorny bush on hillsides and on the
scrubby plains. All these birds roost gregariously in trees,
and at sundown, preparatory to " treeing," awake the echoes
with their cackling. A bunch of grey bristles at gape ;
helmet horn colour. Both the bare skin of face and neck
as well as the wattles are blue.
3. Curly-crested Guinea-Fowl Guttera pucherani. The helmet
is replaced by a tuft of curly feathers on crown. The
naked skin of head is blue, except the throat, which is
red. Frequents wooded riversides in the lower country.
4. Vulturine Guinea-Fowl Acryllium mdturinum. This
splendid bird has a bright blue breast and shoulders, the
neck-hackles long and plume-like, with bold white shaft-
streaks, and a long tail like a hen-pheasant. The naked
parts are lead-blue, with a collar of dark-chestnut hair-like
x
306 ON SAFAKI
feathers round the occiput. Irides crimson. Localities,
Tana, Sabaki, etc.
SAND-GROUSE
1. Bridled Sand-Grouse Pterocles decoratus. Small. Black below.
2. Chestnut-throated Sand-Grouse P. gutturalis. The largest
of the three. Lower parts deep chestnut.
3. Pintailed Sand-Grouse Pteroclurus exustus. Has long pin-
tail. Abundant. Lower parts nearly white.
All three kinds can be seen daily by the rivers
coming down to drink half-an-hour after dawn. With
their swift flight they afford the smartest of shooting both
then and again towards dusk.
[NOTE. In the Transvaal I found eggs of the Double-
banded Sand-Grouse (P. bicinctus) on July 1 the seasonal
equivalent of our New Year's Day which shows how " mixed "
is the African breeding-season. The incident was impressed on
memory because, while carrying the eggs in my shirt-front (we
wear no coats thereaway), I walked right into a big waterbuck
bull fast asleep under a bush, and was unable to handle the
rifle by reason of those blessed oological treasures ! We found
other nests, each with three eggs, on 20th and 26th of July; but
meanwhile, on the 19th, had caught a newly-fledged young bird
already able to fly. Its irides were brown.]
PIGEONS
Olive, or Spotted Wood-Pigeon Columba arqiiatrix. A dark-
coloured Wood-Pigeon, size of a cushat, partially spotted ;
bill and legs bright yellow. A bird of dense forest, such
as the Mau, and Kikuyu Forest, near Nairobi.
Triangular-spotted Pigeon C. guinea. A Wood-pigeon, maroon-
coloured on neck, shoulders, and breast: rump light grey.
A bird of open woods, such as those of Naivasha, etc. Settles
on ground like a cushat.
Green Pigeons Three species as under, all frequenting thin
open forest or bush-country
Vinago nudirostris. Common.
wdkefieldi.
delalandci.
APPENDIX 307
DOVES innumerable
Collared Turtle-Dove Tn.rtur semitorquatus. This is the bird
whose everlasting dactylic note " Chuck-her-up, Chuck-
her-up," awakens one every morning throughout the
length of Africa. Another, whose note is " Chock-taw,"
is, I believe, T. senegalensis, the Laughing-Dove, and
T. damarensis is also abundant, with many other species.
Namaqua Dove, or Long- tailed African Dove (Ena capensis.
The smallest of all, no bigger than a Wagtail. Abundant.
Spot-winged Ground-Dove Chalcopelia afra. This is common
near Mombasa. Commander Lynes, R.N., tells me he
found these small doves breeding on October 30. Their
tiny nest of small sticks, built in turtle-dove style, con-
tained two little opaque cream-coloured eggs, fresh. Sweet
little creatures with short tails, displaying on flight a
chestnut-coloured wing with pretty metallic green and
bronze spots ; upper breast vinaceous.
RAILS AND CRAKES
Water-Hen Gallinula chloropus. Quite common, breeding on
Lake Naivasha and elsewhere.
Crested Coot Fulica cristata. The same remark applies.
Abounds on Elmenteita, and on Naivasha in thousands.
Kaffir Water-Rail Rallus cierulescens. Observed on Naivasha
in May, doubtless breeding, though the fact could not be
proved without infraction of law. Three examples, how-
ever, were shot by Jackson on Olbolossat Swamp in July,
and their breeding thereat was proved by his taking a
nestling from the crop of Marsh-Harrier shot close by.
Black Water-Rail Limnocorax niger. This red-legged black Rail
was observed at Njemps probably common, ' I obtained
it also in the Transvaal. Irides red ; bill yellowish-green.
Corncrake Crex pratensis. Occurs throughout Africa in winter
as far south as Pretoria.
FlNFOOT
Peter's Finfoot Podica petersi. We did not meet with this
and I am not sure that it occurs in the Protectorate ; but
308 ON SAFARI
mention it here as it was the first bird I shot in South
Africa, and an examination of its extraordinary "nonde-
script " build went far to discourage any further study of
Ethiopian ornithology were all African forms one-tenth
so "aberrant," the attempt seemed well-nigh hopeless!
This Finfoot was swimming among heavy reed-beds in a
marsh near Nel's Spruit, Transvaal, and the following is
the note I then made : "Like a Muscovy-Duck so far as
it resembles anything I ever saw : but with the beak of a
Grebe, though orange in colour ; the stiff tail of a
Cormorant; the lobed feet of a Coot, but orange-yellow
like a Mallard's. Weight about 3 Ibs."
GREBES
Great Crested Grebe Podicipes crislatus.
South African Dabchick P. capcnsis.
Both these abound on Elmenteita, Naivasha, Nakuru
and other lakes.
WADERS
Curlew Numenius arquatus. Common on coast, winter.
Whimbrel N. ph&opns. Common on coast, winter. No God-
wits have occurred within our knowledge.
Redshank Totanus calidris. Mombasa, January heard once
at night.
Greenshank T. canescens. On inland lakes ; always solitary.
Green Sandpiper T. ochropus. On inland lakes; always
solitary.
Wood-Sandpiper T. glareola. One, Karriendoos, February 13.
Terek Sandpiper Terekia cinerea. With upturned yellow bill
like a Godwit's two shot on coast (Archer).
Curlew-Sandpiper Tringa subarquata. Common on coast.
Common Sandpiper T. hypoleuca. Common in winter through-
out Africa, on river, lake and marsh.
Ruff Machetes pugnax. Precisely the same remark applies ;
ubiquitous in winter in East Africa.
Turnstone Strepsilas interpres.~\ ~.
cf j v n j- , r Common on coast, winter.
ISanderhng Cahdns arenana. }
APPENDIX 309
A Sanderling was shot by Archer on Albert Nyanza in
December.
Little Stint Tringa minuta. Ubiquitous on all African lakes,
as well as on the coast.
Temminck's Stint T. tcmmincki. On Lakes Baringo and
Naivasha, winter. Rare.
Ringed Plover sEgialitis hiaticula. Frequents in winter the
upland plains, such as Athi ; also observed on lakes and
every small marsh of the veld.
Another species of Ringed Plover (I believe JE. iwv-
arivs) is resident, breeding oil sandhills on the coast and also
at Naivasha in May. It there buries its eggs in the dried
mud whence the lake has receded ; or rather the shallow
saucer in which they lie is always carefully covered over
with flakes of dry mud when the bird is absent or alarmed.
On return, she carefully scrapes these away (F. J. J.).
Asiatic Dotterel JE. asiaticus. Abounds in flocks on the most
arid plains (Athi, Baringo, etc.) during winter. Just
before leaving in March, it assumes the full chestnut
breast of its breeding-plumage.
Grey Plover Squatarola helvetica. Common on coast in
Avinter ; and once observed at Baringo in February
(Archer).
Spur-winged Plover Hopfopfarut speciosus. A handsome species,
in appearance recalling the last-named when in its fullest
summer dress. This plover abounds on lake-shores,
marshes, etc., where it annoys the wildfowler by warning
more valuable birds of the presence of danger.
Riippell's Lapwing, or Black-winged Plover Stcphanibyx
melanopterus.
Crowned Lapwing S. coronatus.
These two are birds of the drier plain, quite numerous,
and the first-named very noisy, often spoiling a " stalk "
by its outrageous cries. It performs the same disservice
to the big-game hunter that the Spur-wing does to the
wildfowler. It has red legs.
Stilt Himantopus candidus. We found these abundant in
winter on Elmenteita, Naivasha, etc. Archer tells me he
found a stilt breeding in May on Lake Sugota. This was
the Saddle-backed Stilt, H. Idmantopus (F. J.) Both Stilt
310 ON SAFARI
and Avocet occur as far south as the Orange River Colony.
The latter \ve did not happen to observe in East Africa.
SNIPES
Five species are met with
1. Gallinago major Solitary Snipe. Observed by us on Lake
Elmenteita in February see p. 146. Not common, but
Archer tells us he shot several at Butiaba, Albert Nyanza,
in November December.
2. G. gallinago. Common Snipe.
3. G. gallinula. Jack-Snipe.
Both quite exceptional in East Africa. Archer, however,
shot a single example of each on the Albert Nyanza.
4. Gr. nigripennis Black-winged Snipe. This is the snipe of
East Africa, abundant in winter on every marsh or
splashy corner. It cannot, I think, be distinguished on
the wing from our European snipe, whether by its flight
or cry. Mr. Archer tells me that at Butiaba he shot all
five species of snipe in one day's march the fifth being
5. Rhynclitea capensis the Painted Snipe.
I had not the luck to see any of these, though at least two
species occur on the Athi Plains, and four have been recorded in
East Africa
1. Temminck's Courser Cursorius temmincki.
2. Hartlaub's Courser Rhinoptilus Irisiynatus.
3. Banded Courser R. cinctus.
4. Bronze-winged Courser R. chalcopterus.
PRATINCOLES
Pratincole Glareola pratincola. Found in mid- winter in packs
of thirty or forty on the driest and most arid plains of
Athi, Naivasha and Baringo. Rising close at hand, they
would only fly a few yards before all " plumped " down
again in a mass.
Archer found another Pratincole (G. cmini) breeding
APPENDIX 311
on rocky islets of Victoria Nyanza in August. Two or
three nests were found, the eggs being stone-grey with
dark blotches.
JACANAS
African Red Jacana Actophilus africanus. Abundant in
swamps, as on the Molo at Njemps, running on the
floating leaves of water-lilies and other aquatic plants.
They take wing more readily than the Rails.
STONE-CURLEWS
Observed at several points, but nowhere commonly. Two
species occur
1. South-African Thick-knee CEdicnemus capensis.
2. Vermiculated Thick-knee CE. vermiculatus.
BUSTARDS
Kori Bustard Eupodotis kori. This splendid species, with
strongly-mottled wing and buff-coloured back, finely ver-
miculated, and a head more like that of a bittern, is
abundant on open or thinly-bushed veld, and affords fine
stalking with rifle. It can rarely be approached within
one hundred yards. Figured at p. 77.
Despite its broad spread of wing and apparent bulk,
the Kori Bustard is comparatively a slim-built bird, falling
far below the European Bustard in weight. Those we
shot on the Molo and at Baringo never exceeded 25 Ibs.,
and the heaviest weighed by Mr. Jackson was 28 Ibs.;
whereas Otis tarda in Spain commonly reaches 30 to
32 Ibs., and one exceptionally heavy old male which I gave
to the National Collection at South Kensington weighed
37 Ibs.
The expanse of wing of a Kori male, shot at Njoro-
Ilimalo, we measured roughly as 14 spans, or say 8| ft.
Stanley's Bustard or Veld Paauw Neotis caffra. This is a true
Bustard, and although so much smaller than the Kori, is a
compact, solid bird, weighing from 10 to 11 Ibs. During
312
ON SAFARI
the breeding- time, in April, this species, like its European
congeners, exhibits an excessive " display " as it were,
turning itself inside out.
Florican, or Wato Bustard Trachdotis canicollis. Common on
plains of the high veld.
CROWNED CRANE.
CRANES
Crowned Crane Balearica gibbericeps. Abundant both on the
Athi Plains and in the Rift Valley, frequenting the open
grass-prairie in small groups, usually under half-a-dozen,
but uniting in packs towards dusk, when, with clamorous
cries, they fly to roost in the tall " fever-trees."
[NOTE. There were huge r grey Cranes by Lake Xakuru
which I imagined would b3 the Great Wattled Crane (Bugcranus
APPENDIX 313
carunculatus) of South Africa. I also put down in my note-
book the Whale-headed Stork, or Shoe-bill (Balteniceps rex) as
observed on that lake ; but neither of these species has yet been
proved to occur in this part of British East Africa.
The true Cranes, it should be added, are not marsh
birds, frequenting the drier lands, like bustards, and feeding
on grain and seeds, varied by locusts and the larger insects.]
HERONS
Common Heron Ardea cincrca. Scarce.
Purple Heron A. purpurea. "I _
TJI , , i , TT A j , 7 f Numerous everywhere.
.black-headed Heron A. mdanocephala.)
Goliath Heron A. goliath. Lake Nakuru, Elmenteita. In
South Africa nests in bushes or fallen trees over-
hanging the rivers ; eggs blue. See pp. 37, 138, 141.
Buff-backed Heron Biibulcus lucidus. Abundant; feeding on
ticks, flies, and parasites, as it does in Europe, is often seen
in attendance on big game, perching on their backs. There
is a heronry of these birds in a rocky ravine near " Lone-
Tree " on the Athi River. The nests are on low thorn-
trees, and the breeding-season from March till July.
Little Egret Garzetta garzetta. Near water only, and usually
solitary.
Squacco Heron Ardeola ralloidcs. Observed on Nakuru.
Night-Heron Nydicorax nycticorax. Observed on Nakuru.
Common Bittern Botaurus stellaris. We put up what we took
to be Bitterns in the reed-beds of Stony Athi ; but these
may have been immature examples of N. nycticorax, for
Mr. Jackson tells us he never met with the Bittern. It
occurs, however, in South Africa.
STORKS
Hammer-head Sc&pus umbretta. Common on all rivers where
muddy shores and islets afford it scope for wading and
poking about in shallows. While watching for hippo
on the Athi, I saw this strange bird catch and eat frogs
and worm-like things that I took to be leeches. It builds
an enormous stick-nest on riverside trees, and (in the
314 ON SAFARI
Transvaal) I watched a pair carrying food to their young
on June 21. Sketched at p. 220.
Marabou Stork Leptoptttui crumeni/cms. At first sight, it
surprises one to observe a bird obviously of the Stork
persuasion performing the functions of a Vulture indeed
sharing with those scavengers a repulsive meal. But
biologists had long ago demonstrated the anatomical
affinity that exists between orders apparently so widely
separated as the Vultures and the Storks. In their
easy soaring flight, floating for hours in high heaven,
without apparent exertion, the two possess a common
aptitude. The Marabou is really master of the feast,
and, stalking into the crowd, sets the huge Vultures
flapping aside in dire dismay from that terrible bayonet-
like beak. Also gorges on locusts see p. 99. The
Marabou abounds in East Africa.
Saddle-billed Stork, or African Jabiru Ephippiorhynckua sene-
galenis. Even that tremendous scientific name hardly
does justice to this giant among feathered fowl; which,
however, despite those murderous mandibles, appears to
confine its attentions to frogs and the like "small deer"
on the marshy margins of the lakes. We observed it on
Nakuru and Elmenteita, and it is sketched at p. 39.
White Stork Ciconia alba. A winter migrant, at times cover-
ing the plain in a black and white crowd, doing invaluable
service in locust-killing.
White-bellied Stork Aldimia abdimii. With the above
were a few of this smaller and darker species that I took
at the time to be Black Storks (C, nigra), which latter we
did not observe.
IBISES
Glossy Ibis His falcinellus
Sacred Ibis /. cethiopica.
Both species common on all lakes.
Hagedash Ibis Hagedashia hagedash. Common.
Wood-Ibis Pseudolantalus ibis. Scattered over the country
by wooded rivers. A big bird, stork-like in colour, but
with a heavy, curved orange beak. The bare skin of the
APPENDIX 315
face (extending well behind the eyes) is bright red ; legs
reddish. When flying, the white plumage displays a
slight pinkish tinge, like that of a flamingo, but less
pronounced. Nests on trees.
GEESE
Spur-winged Goose Plcctropterus gairibcnsis. A huge species,
black and white, common and widely distributed. Fre-
quents marshy plains and foreshores, feeding by day, and
flighting to open waters at sundown to roost as our
European geese do.
Egyptian Goose Chenalopex ccgyptiacus. Frequently met with
on the driest grass-prairies by day; also on Lake Elmen-
teita both by day and night.
Pigmy Goose Nettopus auritus. At Kisumu, on Victoria
Nyanza, frequenting the lily-lined shores.
DUCKS
Knob-billed Duck Sarcidiornis melanonota. A large species,
equal in bulk to many of the Geese, and sometimes called
the Black-backed Goose. Found on Naivasha, and the
commonest of all the ducks on Lake Baringo.
White-faced Tree-Duck Dendrocycna viduata. This is one of
the group known as " Whistling Teal," some of which also
frequent the coast. Two species, of which D. viduata is
one, are found on Baringo, the other being probably the
Whistling Duck D. fulva. [Note. This Duck is found
spread over four continents, to wit : both North and
South America, great part of Africa (including Mada-
gascar), and, in Asia, throughout India, Ceylon and
Burmah.
Its congener last named, D. viduata, is also a New-
World species, inhabiting South America as well as Africa.
But both strictly avoid Europe.]
Yellow-bill, or African Mallard Anas undulata. Common in
East Africa and southwards to the Cape Colony. It fre-
quents lakes, such as Elmenteita, in big packs, and
"flights" regularly at dusk and dawn, often accompanied
by Pintail, Shoveler, etc.
316 ON SAFARI
Black Duck Aims sparsa. Differs from the last (though it
"quacks" like a Mallard) in being of solitary habit, and
in frequenting only hill-burns and wooded streams. A
drake shot weighed 3 lb?., bill blue with black patches,
feet orange with dark webs. White spots on scapulars ;
speculum purple.
Pintail Daftla acuta. \ mi ^
These European species are all
fenoveler spatula di/peata. Y , , . .
abundant in winter.
Garganey yuerquediUa circia.)
Hottentot Teal Nettium punctatum. Common on Naivasha,
Elmenteita and Nakuru ; but only found on the brackish
salt-lakes.
Common Pochard Nyroca ferina.
South African Pochard N. africana.
Both these are found on the lakes, the latter especially
common on Naivasha.
South-African Stiff-tailed Duck Erismatura maccoa. I recog-
nised this singular duck at once on Lake Elmenteita by
its obvious similitude to the White-faced Duck (J2. Icuco-
cephala) of Southern Spain. Both are long, low, heavily-
immersed diving-ducks ; both have the short wing and
sheeny plumage of a Grebe, and the long stiff tail of a
Cormorant, which both carry at intervals bolt upright as
it were like a "jigger-mast."
I imagine, though I did not see the present species at
its breeding-time, that it also will then have the bill
swollen and dilated above.
FLAMINGOES
Flamingo Phcenicopterus roseus. Frequents Lake Nakuru in
great flocks; also observed, though in lesser numbers, on
Elmenteita and Solai. Lake Hannington, however, ap-
pears to be their great rendezvous. In the course of
ages, they have so defiled the shallows and foreshores as
to render the neighbourhood of that lake intolerable to
white men.
Lesser Flamingo Ph. minor. Observed in small numbers on
Nakuru. Plentiful elsewhere.
APPENDIX 317
DARTERS
Snake-bird, or Darter. Plotus rufus. On all large rivers ; it
posts itself on some dead bough overhanging the water,
whence it dives, scarcely disturbing the surface, and re-
turning to sit " spread-eagled " to dry. Sexes differ
somewhat in colouring. In South Africa the Darter
nests in September in overhanging willows, about six or
eight feet above water-level, and often beneath the nests
of Herons (A. cinerea and A. inelanocepluihi) in the higher
trees above. Nests lined with willow-leaves; eggs five,
of Cormorant-type.
CORMORANTS
White-breasted Cormorant P/ialacrocorax lucidus.
Pigmy Cormorant P. africanm.
Two species of Cormorants occur inland breeding on
wooded rivers, as Athi, Molo and others ; also on all the
lakes, including the brackish such as Nakuru and
Elmenteita as well as on Naivasha.
PELICANS
Pelicans Pelecanus onocrotalm and P. rufcscens. Pelicans were
observed in January on the Nairobi River, a few miles
from the capital; also on all the big lakes. In August
we noticed a systematic southward migration, flock after
flock (along with wild geese) passing overhead during
three days, and all pointing towards Lake Nakuru.
There are two kinds : the first-named a huge pinky-
white bird ; the latter much smaller and silvery-grey.
SECRETARY-BIRDS
Common Secretary-Bird Serpcntarius sccretarius. Observed
on the open grass-prairies, as mentioned at pp. 234-5.
Makes a huge nest in low thorn-trees.
318 ON SAFARI
BIRDS OF PREY
VULTURES
Five species inhabit East Africa. Of these, two are small,
Neophron-like ; Avhile of the three larger species, one the white-
headed is rarely met with. Thus, of the swarms of great
carrion-vultures that promptly assemble at every kill, all belong
to the two species first below named
1. African Griffon Pseudogyps africanus. A huge bare-
necked species, bigger and darker in colour than the
European Griffon, but showing conspicuously great
patches of white on its lower plumage. Swarms.
2. Eared, or Black Vulture Otogyps auricularis. Much less
numerous, though some may always be distinguished
amidst the herd around a " kill " by their uniformly
darker colour and by the great red lobes, or wattles, on
their ears.
3. Hooded, or White-headed Vulture Lophogyps occipitalis.
Rare, as stated above.
[NOTE, that though I am here forced to use three separate
generic titles for the same number of species all great carrion-
vultures, obviously belonging to a single family I only do so
tinder protest. I hold that such ultra-refinement of definition
is not only unnecessary, but actually prejudicial to the general
understanding of ornithology.]
The two smaller East-African Vultures are clearly Neo-
phrons; but the more abundant by far of the two differs essen-
tially from the well-known Egyptian Vulture of Europe (N. pcrc-
nopterus) in that its tail is short and square, instead of long and
cuneate; also in that its plumage remains dark brown through-
out life ; whereas in the other, the plumage though dark during
immaturity becomes pure white with black wing-points when
.adult. In Africa, the square or cuneate tail will always serve to
.distinguish the two species, old or young.
4. White Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus. Com-
paratively scarce, though least so in mountain-regions.
The only example actually handled an adult, shot at
APPENDIX 319
Baringo in August showed conspicuous patches of rich
bay, with black punctuations, upon scapulars and tertials
features never observed in Spanish specimens. Face
yellow.
5. Brown Egyptian Vulture N. monachiis. Very abundant.
Always dark brown with pink gape and livid blue face.
Tail square, as above described. Attends one's camp
everywhere, and roosts in crowds in the trees close by.
(In my South- African note-book occurs this remark :
" Among hundreds of Neophrons, never an adult shows up : all
are brown, and their tails are square not cuneate. How is
this ? " The answer is supplied above.)
EAGLES
Five species came under our observation, as follows
1. Crowned Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus coronatus. A fierce and
powerful species, as mentioned in narrative (p. 211). Dis-
tinguishable by its short rounded wings and broad tail.
Usually seen in pairs Athi, the Rift, etc.
2. Black-crested Hawk-Eagle Lopkoaetus occipitalis. In colour
very dark, but showing a broad patch of white on either
wing, most conspicuous when seen from above. The long
black crest is also visible at considerable distance see
p. 212.
3. Bateleur Eagle Helotarsus ecaudatus. A striking species
of powerful sailing flight, the wings held more recurved
than in any other eagle. The red legs can also be dis-
tinctly seen, extended backwards and projecting slightly
beyond the very short tail.
4. Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax. One of the commonest East-
African eagles ; often to be seen perched on a dead tree
close outside camp, and even, occasionally, joining com-
pany with the vultures at a carrion-meal. A medium-
sized eagle, entirely tawny-chestnut in colour, and feathered
to the toes. Sketched at p. 130.
5. White-headed Fish-Eagle Haliaetus vocifer. Frequents
wooded riversides and the shores of lakes, where it sits for
hours perched on a tree, at intervals uttering a series of
magnificent piercing cries. It also gives tongue when
320 ON SAFARI
soaring. One of a pair stooped at a pack of ducks swim-
ming on Elmenteita, but did not pursue when they rose.
KITES, HAWKS, ETC.
Black Kite Milvus korschun. Abundant during winter, but
withdraws by mid-February. Bill horn-colour.
Egyptian Kite M. cegyptius (yellow-billed). Equally abund-
ant, but remains throughout the year. A bold camp-
scavenger, swooping down and carrying off scraps of meat
(or anything red) from the midst of the men.
Black-winged Kite Elanus cceruhus. Common but local.
Marsh-Harrier Circus ranivorus. Rare ; but occurs all the year.
C. ceruginosus. In winter only.
Hen-Harrie,r C. cyaneus. Common in winter on Athi, but
none seen there in summer.
Montagu's Harrier C. pygargus. Ruwenzori (Archer), also in
B. E. Africa.
Pallid Harrier C. macrurus. Plentiful in Torquel (Jackson).
Buzzards of several kinds were observed, but none of
European type. Those recorded are
Steppe Buzzard Buteo descrtorum. Ruwenzori (Archer).
Jackal Buzzard B.jakal.
Augur Buzzard B. augur.
Kestrels of various sizes abound. My Spanish friend, the
Lesser Kestrel (Cerchneis naumanni) swarmed in winter on the
koppies and crags of Lukenia, Athi, etc. Four species have,
I believe, been recognised in B.E. Africa.
[NOTE. A striking instance of the marvels of bird-migration
occurs in this group. One species of Kestrel (the Eastern Red-
footed, Cerchneis amurensis) breeds in North China and Japan,
leaving that region in September. Its passage through India
is noticed in October November. But it spends its winter
(that is, the South-African summer) well south of the Zambesi.
Thence it returns to China in the following spring. Curiously,
its passage has not hitherto been noticed in B.E. Africa.
That may arise either from the (natural) scarcity of ornitho-
logical observers, or possibly because the birds travel direct
across the Indian Ocean.]
APPENDIX 321
OWLS
Spotted Eagle-Owl Bubo maculosus. A medium-sized horned
Owl, ash-grey in colour, with black mottlings closely
resembling the grey type of our British Wood-Owl (Syrnium
aluco), but quite twice as large. It is common in the
rocky ravines and bush-clad kloofs of the Athi, and hoots
in alarming key at night, though some of those unearthly
shrieks may have been due to the following species
Giant Eagle-Owl, or Verreaux's Eagle-Owl (. lacteus). A huge
pale-grey bird, also observed on the Athi on two occasions.
We noticed, in the forests near Baringo, a horned Eagle-
Owl, tawny in colour, hunting by day, and apparently of
arboreal habit.
Marsh-Owl Ado capcnsis. This, the African Short-eared Owl,
was common among bush at Baringo in August ; also
among the reed-beds of the Stony Athi in winter (January
February). A dark-coloured Owl, sleeping away the
daylight hours gregariously on the ground.
Cape Scop's Owl Scops capcnsis. A very small grey horned
Owl. See p. 213.
PARROTS
One expects in the tropics to see Monkeys and Parrots at
every turn, but in British East Africa one hardly sees either.
Our personal acquaintance with Parrots was limited to observing
a few on wing near Mombasa and in the coastal region, and
again a noisy bronze-green species near Baringo. The following
six species have, however, been recorded in British East Africa
Pceocephalus siuchelicus.
P. masaicus.
P. fiiscicapillus.
P. rufiventris.
P. matschiei.
Agapornis personata.
KINGFISHERS
Striped Kingfisher Halcyon chelicuti. A brown-grey bird
Y
322 ON SAFARI
only showing blue on the back. As often seen on the dry
veld as by riversides.
Pied Kingfisher Ceryle rudis. A large and conspicuous bird,
mottled black and white, with an occipital tuft and a dark
bar through eye. Observed on Athi, Molo and other
rivers, sometimes perched on a dead reed, at others
hovering, kestrel-like, over the water.
Giant Kingfisher G. maxima. A handsome black species
banded with rows of white spots and, in the male, a warm
ruddy patch on the breast. Larger than the last. Ob-
served at Njenips, but rare. More common on Victoria
Nyanza.
Malachite Kingfisher Corythornis cyanostigma. Small, bright
azure. Common everywhere.
ROLLERS
Roller, or Blue Jay Coracias garrulus. A migrant, observed
in winter frequenting the higher land.
Lilac-breasted Roller G. caudatus. These long-tailed Rollers
were common in the lower country at Simba, Makiudu,
etc., in March. Resident. Figured at p. 248.
BEE-EATERS
Bee-eaters abound ; we noticed the following, besides others
that we did not know
Merops persicm Blue-cheeked Bee-eater. A large species,
bright green ; and
M. a/piaster the European species. Curiously, this bird breeds
both in Spain in our spring, and again in South Africa in
our autumn. Whether this applies to individual birds
cannot, of course, be known. The notes of these two
species appear to be identical.
M. albicollis (possibly). "| , T T .
, /r ,.,, , 1-L-J- c (F. J. Jackson.)
Mehttopliagus aloifrom. J
HOOPOES ( Upupa)
The European species (U. epops] is rare, but was observed
during winter on the higher ground, and once (exceptionally)
APPENDIX 323
as low as Siinba at end of March. It migrates northward at
that date to breed.
The African Hoopoe (U. africana) is abundant, and was
also observed at Simba in March, and at various other points.
It frequents open bush, and is distinguished by its dark wing
(not barred with white as in U. epops} and its redder body-
colour. Resident.
WOOD-HOOPOES (Irrisor)
These are forest-frequenting birds, without crest, blackish in
plumage, with glossy metallic lustre of deep greens and purples,
and showing only a single white bar on the wings. Their tails
are long, graduated and cuneate, each feather having a sub-
terminal white bar. These are noisy birds, attracting one's
attention by a harsh discordant chatter within the bush, and
then, on being disturbed, flying oft' with loud outcries.
At Sultan Hamud I watched a pair climbing like Wood-
peckers in search of insects on rough tree-trunks, and made the
rough sketch inserted at p. 243.
HOKNBILLS
(Usually, but quite wrongly, called " Toucans " the latter
being exclusively a South- American family.)
Great Ground-Hornbill Bucorax caffer. Only found in dense
forest, or about the margins or " opens " thereof. Re-
sembles a turkey as it struts along the ground, feeding
on small reptiles, insects and everything that crawls,
and with great red wattles pendent from its bare blue
throat. The flight appears smooth and noiseless as that
of an owl, though when disturbed close at hand a loud
rustling is audible ; it is gently undulated by the inter-
mittent wing-beats, the broad white bands on the wings and
the immensely long tail being conspicuous. Always wild
and watchful. See p. 197.
In the Man forests we noticed several large Hornbills, which
probably included (besides the above)
Trumpeter Hornbill Bycanistes 'buccinator (p. 192).
Crested Hornbill B. cristatus (p. 193).
324 ON SAFARI
Besides the larger kinds, there were also at. Man and in the
Sotik, as well as all over the wooded districts of East Africa,
Hornbills of a smaller genus, distinguished as Lophoceros, some
of which I have endeavoured to sketch (see pp. 17, 199, 200,
251). These included
Crowned Hornbill L. melanoleucus,
Black-and-white Hornbill L. fasciatus.
Red-billed Hornbill L. erythrorhynchus.
All the hornbills, great and small, are very noisy birds.
Some species of this group, Lophoceros, have the curious habit of
imprisoning the female while she is sitting on her eggs. The
nest is placed in a hollow tree, the entrance to which the male
plasters up with clay, leaving only a narrow slit through which
he feeds the incubating female.
NIGHTJARS
Pennant-winged Nightjar Cosmetornis vexillarius. Abund-
ant in bush-clad ravines and on wooded river-banks,
such as Athi. Several will rise close by, and settle again,
often squatting down on bare sand, within a few yards.
The long streaming plumes or " pennants " (see sketch,
p. 211) are only assumed at the breeding period April.
Racket-winged Nightjar Macrodipteryx macrodipterus. In this
also the long, tufted plumes are only acquired at the
nesting-time. The bird then, when flying, gives the
impression, in the dusk, of being three birds a big one
with two smaller mobbing it. Baringo is one locality ;
but it is not common.
Salvadori's Nightjar Caprimulgus frenatus. A small Nightjar,
common in the Mau and on the highlands, but replaced
on Athi and the coast by the
Mozambique Nightjar C. fossei. Abundant from Athi to
Mombasa, and audible everywhere after sundown.
Donaldson-Smith's Nightjar C. donaldsoni. A small species,
very noisy. Common. At Baringo I found a nest with
two eggs, on bare ground, on August 29 unusually
late.
APPENDIX 325
SWIFTS
Swifts of several kinds including our British species in
winter were observed, some comparatively small.
COLIES (Colius)
These mouse-grey birds with tufted heads and very long
tails are numerous, darting about in packs with rapid flight.
Their long wings and tails at first suggest " Parrakeets " ; but
on alighting, the Colies are seen to run and climb on trees and
move in the style of Creepers or Nuthatches, creeping along
boughs or up and down vertical stems in search of berries or
buds. For climbing purposes, their toes are so arranged that
all four can be directed forwards, and are furnished with sharp
prehensile claws. When ascending a sloping branch they
appear to use the "knees" also. Figured at p. 65.
Colies breed in November, the nests being untidy grass-built
structures like those of Sparrows, placed in bushes or low trees,
and with an entrance at the side.
CUCKOOS
Solitary Cuckoo Cuculus solilarius. Njemps, August.
White-browed Coucal Ccntropus superciliosus.
Purple-crowned Lark-heeled Coucal C. monachus.
These two are reclusive birds, skulking by day amid
thick reed-beds or bush and seldom seen. They are largely
of nocturnal habit, and very noisy at night. The first-
named Coucal has an extraordinary bubbling note that
resembles water gurgling from an inverted bottle, and
may be heard all night at Mombasa (where " water-bottle
bird " is one name for it). We also heard it far up-
country, at Makindu, Baringo, etc.
Both species are also known as Bush-Cuckoos, or
Ground-Cuckoos. Sketched at pp. 59, 109, 112.
TOURACOS
Grey Touraco, or Lourie Schizorkis concolor (South-African).
Purple-crested Lourie Gallirex chlorochlamys.
Purple-winged Lourie Turacvs hartlaubi.
326 ON SAFARI
These are the " Go-'way birds " of South Africa, or
Plain tain-eaters. In East Africa they frequent the high-
lying forests, as Mau, Sotik and the Kikuyu Forest, and
thorn-clad plateaux of Laikipia. Besides its ringing cry,
"Go-'way," the Grey Lotirie has also a cat-like note,
uttered as it seemingly tries to balance on a bough,
fluttering its short wings and flirting the immense tail.
It is this species which, as described in Chap. XXII,
causes infinite annoyance to the big-game hunter in
South Africa by giving warning of danger to the quarry.
KING LEOPOLD'S TOUBACO (Gymnoschizorhis leopoldi}.
King Leopold's Touraco (Gymnoschizorhis leopoldi), brough t from
Ruwenzori by my friend, Mr. Douglas Carruthers, is here
rudely sketched. Remarkable for its scimitar-like crest
and bare, featherless face. Other species of Touracos are
figured at pp. 31, 194, 271, 272.
BARBETS
Woodpecker-like birds, though they do not climb, a score
or more of which are found in East Africa. They have
ringing voices, not unmusical, nest in hollow trees, and a typical
Barbet is sketched at p. 65.
APPENDIX 327
HONEY-GUIDES (Indicator}
Several species occur, notably Indicator major, and I.
variegatus, the Scaly-throated Honey-guide, more particularly
described in Chap. XXII.
WOODPECKERS
Many species observed, large and small ; but (as with the
Barbets) I had no opportunity of identifying these.
Thripias schocnsis *|
Mesopims spodoccplialus \ are conspicuous (F. J. Jackson).
Dendropicus lafresnayi )
SWALLOWS
Our common Chimney Swallow is abundant in winter, and
its " mobilisation " in February for the northward journey has
already been described (p. 144). Other species, unknown to me
(particularly a small kind with speckled breast), were perform-
ing a similar function simultaneously.
Another species appears in March all white beneath,
flecked with grey " ticks," but without the black breast-band.
This is Hirundo puella. Its crown and rump are chestnut,
the mantle glossy steel-blue. This appeared to be only one of
several species with " flecked " breasts.
FLYCATCHERS
Spotted Flycatcher Muscicapa grisola. Though not actually
observed by us, is recorded from Kibwezi, on the Uganda
railway, as early as September 24 ; and at Teita as late
as April 6 (Ibis, 1901, p. 87) ; from Tanganyika (Ibis,
1899, p. 375), and occurs in winter as far south as the
Transvaal.
In a letter just received (Juqe 1908), Mr. Jackson
mentions that Spotted Flycatchers remained in his garden
at Nairobi this year up to the middle of April.
In the Man Forest (see p. 194) we observed black-and-
white birds, obviously Flycatchers, but of a species quite
unknown to us.
328 ON SAFARI
BULBULS (Pycnonotus)
The ringing flute-like song of one species (P. layardi) has
already been mentioned at Baringo specially noticeable to-
wards night (see pp. 58 and 63). Other kinds warble all day,
a rich sweet song, audible afar, even around Mombasa.
BABBLERS (Crateropus)
Thrush-like birds which frequent bush, alighting in a mass
on some thorn if they think no one is in sight. Otherwise
EMIX'S BABBLER (Crateropus emini, 9 ).
secretive, more often heard than seen. On one's approaching to
see what all the noise is about, the Babblers sneak off quietly
through the bush ahead ; most difficult to see.
The annexed rough sketch represents one of the Babblers
C. emini.
THRUSHES AND WARBLERS
Wheatear Saxicola cenantlw. Observed by us both at Nairobi
and Elmenteita, besides being recorded from Athi and
elsewhere, during the winter months, the earliest date
being September 26 at Njemps.
Fan tail- Warblers Cisticola. Abundant on the marshy flats
around Lake Nakuru.
APPENDIX 329
Willow-Warbler Phylloscopus trochilus. Many records in winter.
We observed it ourselves and heard it in half-song in the
Mau Forest on March 6 (see p. 197). Mr. Jackson records
its remaining at Nairobi this year up to May 10.
Sedge- Warbler Acrocephalusphragmitis. Observed in Ukamba
in January. This year (1908) remained at Nairobi as late
as May 23 (F. J. J.).
Marsh- Warbler A. palustris. Also recorded in January from
Ukamba.
Whitethroat Sylvia curruca. We thought we observed this on
Athi in January, but, as Mr. Jackson was doubtful, had
excluded it. He, however, writes (June 1908) : " I think
I have since got two or three from Kitui, west of Donyo
Sabuk."
Another of our little British songsters, the Garden-
Warbler (S. hortensis), though not yet actually recorded
from Equatoria, 1 goes, in fact, far further south. For my
friend Mr. Harold Fry writes to me from the Transvaal :
" There are always two or three, sometimes more, in my
garden at Bertrams an unobtrusive little bird, not given
much to warbling when he visits us here ; but with a fine
taste in fruits cherries, apricots, peaches, grapes, nothing
comes amiss. But he is not above taking insects too ;
and, I have fancied, reveals his Northern origin by con-
tinuing to hawk after these even in a drizzle of rain that
drives most of our native birds to shelter."
Mr. Jackson sends me the following most interesting note :
"Nairobi, May 25, 1908. Several of our British migrants were
remarkably late in leaving these parts. The Spotted Flycatcher
remained until the middle of April ; the Willow- Warbler as late
as May 10 ; and the Sedge- Warbler I saw on May 23. The
Tree-Pipit was in great numbers in my garden up to May 4,
but all disappeared during that night, which was very wet and
stormy."
Truly the above are remarkable dates, and Mr. Jackson asks :
" Did they know you were having Arctic weather in April at
home ? "
As a matter of fact, these tiny travellers were not only
1 Mr. Jackson writes : "I have several from the Ravine."
330 ON SAFARI ,
extremely late in reaching England this year, but arrived in
markedly smaller numbers than I ever before remember. Thus
the Willow-Warblers (and Sand-Martins also) failed to appear
in Northumberland till May 1 the former a fortnight, the
latter a month, overdue. No Spotted Flycatchers showed up
in my garden at Houxty till May 11; while Sedge-Warblers
and Tree-Pipits came together four days later all long past
their customary dates. The paucity of their numbers this year
was also equally marked. The diminution in each of the four
specific cases could certainly not be estimated at less than a full
half: while as regards others of our summer-warblers, especially
Whinchats, the apparent loss mounted up to quite two-thirds of
their normal numbers.
The subject is more fully treated in my Bird-life of the
Borders on Moorland and Sea (Second Edition), and a possible
explanation of such phenomena will be found suggested at
pp. 125 et scq. I venture to hope that every field-naturalist will
have read that work and in no sense of paltry profit to me,
but solely for his own benefit and enjoyment.
SHRIKES
In Europe we have but five or six species, while Africa
boasts a dozen genera a few of which may be mentioned
here
Lanius. An overflow from Europe. Our British Red-backed
Shrike (L. collurio) occurs right through Africa in winter
as far south as Gazaland (inland of Delagoa Bay), and
has been recorded from Ruwenzori and elsewhere in
British East Africa. Mr. Jackson writes : " Very plenti-
ful in Rift Valley in March and early April." The
Lesser Grey Shrike (L. minor) also visits Africa in
winter ; but that continent only possesses one Lanius of
its own L. mackinnoni.
Laniarius. An exclusively African genus, including a dozen or
more species, none of which I met with.
Bush-Shrikes Dryoscopus. Also purely African, numbering
about twenty species. D. nandensis, one of the many new
species discovered in East Africa by Mr. Jackson, is
figured at p. 174, from the plate in Ibis, 1901, p. 41.
APPENDIX 331
WOOD-SHRIKES
Helmet-Shrikes Sigmochis. Characterised by tufted heads and
wattles around the eye ; woodland birds of soft floppy
flight, recalling that of the Siberian Jay. This, again, is a
purely African genus of half-a-dozen species (p. 252).
Drongos Dicrurus, of which the fork-tailed species, D. musiciis,
is figured and described at p. 18. 1
In spite of the abundance of Shrikes, I never chanced to
notice their " shambles " in East Africa.
TITS (Paridce)
These also form a numerous group, fourteen species being
recognised as peculiar to the African Continent thereby break-
ing through the rigid bounds of " Ethiopia " in zoological
geography.
Tits noticed in the forests of the Man were dark in colour
almost black. This we attributed to their gloomy environment
almost a twilight at midday. But those sombre colours
appear to be more or less characteristic of other African
Paridfe not restricted to dense forest.
SUNBIRDS
This is a thoroughly tropical or rather, Ethiopian group,
comprising 80 to 100 species, many of which are typical of
British East Africa. Bedecked in gorgeous hues crimson and
purples, greens and scarlet, blues, gold and yellow, each feather
of which has a metallic lustre these tiny creatures glance like
jewels in the sunshine as they dart from flower to flower, alight-
ing for an instant to pick off insects and aphides with curved,
creeper-like bills. One perches above a bloom, bending forward
to a perpendicular position to explore the calyx beneath ; while
another hangs, back downwards, like a tit, below its selected
rlower.
Towards the end of July, when the brilliancy of some blooms
1 Mr. Ogilvie-Grant tells me that Dicntrtw should properly have been
placed next to Lamprocoliiis at p. 335.
332 ON SAFARI
was going back, I noticed a single, later-flowering shrub almost
covered with Sunbirds and butterflies. Sketched at p. 12.
Simbirds appear to breed in April and May.
LARKS, BUNTINGS, PIPITS, ETC.
These are in strong evidence, over eighty species of Larks and
a dozen of the Bunting family being recorded. Both Skylarks
and Crested Larks (or their tropical equivalents) abound, and
we noticed the former beginning to sing, much as at home,
in February. This was during heavy rain.
A group of Ethiopian Pipits are distinguished as " Long-
claws " (Macronyx), one species, M. croceus, being figured at
p. 145. Mr. Jackson writes me recently : " In spite of all our
troubles I have managed to do a little birds'-nesting at odd
moments, and have had the satisfaction of finding here five nests
with eggs of the beautiful pink-breasted and pink-throated
Pipit, Macronyx wintoni. I had always believed it to be a
resident which bred in this country, and it is a great satisfac-
tion to have proved the fact (see Ibis, January 1905). Hitherto
I had never seen it south of Naivasha."
Our British Tree-Pipit reaches the equator in winter, as
already mentioned (pp. 145 and 210). Also observed on Mount
Elgon (8,000 it.), February 14 (F. J. J.), and in Toro, Uganda,
March 10 (Ibis, 1906, p. 559); while this year Mr. Jackson
records its remaining as late as May 4 at Nairobi. Two other
species are common on open downs the European Red-
throated Pipit, Anthus cervinus, and A. rufulus, the latter breed-
ing, while the former migrates northwards (to the Arctic) by June.
White Wagtail Motacilla alba. Eldama Ravine, February
(Jackson).
Yellow Wagtail M. flava. Common from November to March
(Jackson).
Grey Wagtail M. mdanope. This we observed ourselves (and
I think M. flava also) at Nairobi in January, and again
at Lake Elmenteita in February. Recorded also on
September 30 from Mau (8,000 ft.).
APPENDIX 333
BUSH-LARKS
Fischer's Bush-Lark (Mirafra fischcri) is the thick-set, ruddy-
brown bird, with short tail and short rounded wings, that
makes the extraordinary vibrating noise already described
at p. 249. This was in thin bush-country at Sirnba, in
March; but in its breeding-season in November, Commander
Lynes, R.N., tells me he heard and noticed it soaring quite
300 ft. in air with undulating flight, like that of a snipe
when "drumming" but with this difference, that the
vibrant rattle was only produced when on the up-grade,
whereas snipe produce it only when dropping earthwards.
Even at that great height the rattle was clearly audible ;
indeed, at half-a-mile it sounded as distinct as when the
bird was close by. The annexed diagram shows the line
of fliht.
*fflffifn.7nm
DIAGRAM ILLUSTRATING FLIGHT OF Hirafra fischcri.
Starting from the ground at A, the bird mounts quickly to B.
B to C a few preliminary wing-beats.
C to D the " clapper " sound is produced. At D closes wings and
drops to E.
E to F preliminary wing-beats repeated.
F to G " clapper " repeated and so on.
Finally, Mirafra descends to half-way by a series of steep down-grades,
and completes remainder of descent to ground or bush by an almost
vertical drop of great rapidity.
Duration of " clapper," three seconds ; of whole performance, three to
five minutes.
Viewed from below, the outline of the bird on the wing resembles that
of a Wood-Lark, with rather large rounded wings, the inner secondaries
well clear of the body thus allowing space for the requisite movement of
the wing over so large an arc (180) which produces the sound (Lynes).
334
ON SAFARI
Athi Bush-Lark M. athi. This frequents more open country
than the last, including the open grassy plains, where I
found a nest containing a single young bird on quite bare
ground on February 4, the owner showing rufous-brown
wings as she rose (p. 214). We also found it nesting at
Elmenteita in September.
Large Buntings with bright yellow breasts, and various
Serin-like birds, are conspicuous, the latter specially numerous at
Elmenteita and Nakuru. 1
WEAVER-BIRDS
Africa counts some 250 species,
divided into 62 genera, all more or less
related to the Finches.
Over the whole country one sees
their nests ; often every branch of a tree
will be bent down with scores of pendent
grass-built structures, separate or semi-
detached. Favourite sites are palmites
and forest-trees that fringe river-banks,
the lower nests almost dipping to the
surface as branches sway in a breeze.
Even lowly bushes, where they overhang
water, are occupied. The eggs, like the
birds, are sparrow-like. At Baringo,
nests contained both eggs and young in August.
The Social Weavers (Philazterus) build nests which can only
be described as confluent, joined together by the hundred under
a common roof see sketch at p. 58. RepuUicaines the French
happily term these little architects. Another group (Hyphan-
tornis) weave their nests separately on to tall reeds growing in
water, as shown at p. 250. Other forms are figured at p. 67.
Weaver-birds of one genus or another nested alike at
Mombasa and in every wooded region that we visited up to
the Sotik.
At Mombasa one of the common species is Bojer's Golden
1 These, I find, are Canaries, of which genus some twenty-five to thirty
species are recognised in Africa.
A WEAVER.
APPENDIX 335
Weaver (Xanthophilus lojcri). This breeds in November, the
grass-built nest being compacted with fibrous strips of banana
leaf ami placed in the outer sprays of low trees especially the
Aleppo-like pine.
One striking species has the face and throat crimson,
narrowly margined with black, and set off by white on shoulders
and breast, the upper parts being dark. Several other weavers
are dark-headed, with lighter bodies in various colours.
A brightly-plumaged group are the Bishop-birds (Pyrome-
lana\ scarlet and black being notable elements in their colour-
scheme figured at pp. 242, 249 ; while an analogous section is
formed by the Waxbills (Estrilda).
At Simba in March we observed the males of HypTiantornis
siibaurcus spin up vertically in erotic flight, displaying their
golden plumage a habit resembling that of Mirafra fischeri,
above described, but in this case without the accompaniment
of a " vibrant " rattle.
Weaver-birds are not all characterised by brilliancy of
colour, for the Social Weavers (Philfeterus) boast not one feather
that can catch the eye.
The only other species we will mention is the King-Whydah
(Chera dclamerei), whose extraordinary development of tail (in
the males) has already been figured at p. 50. This bird is found
only upon the high veld, and is said, like the Cuckoo, to possess
parasitic habits in the breeding-time.
(Mr. Jackson writes: " This I believe to be incorrect.")
At p. 185 is a sketch of another Whydah-Finch Penthetria
ardens the male of which is jet black with flame-red gorget.
ORIOLES
Golden Orioles Oriolus (I believe of two species) were noted
in the Rift in August, on the Athi in September, and at
Simba in March.
STARLINGS
Glossy Starlings Lamprocolius. These are conspicuous birds
in all wooded districts, sometimes attending our camps
336 ON SAFARI
to pick up stray grains of rice. But they do so here in
a half-nervous way, and have not yet acquired that
familiarity with man which they exhibit in the South.
Glossy Starlings nest in hollow trees exactly as our
starlings do at home.
Wondrous assemblages of these birds, together with
Rollers, Bee-eaters and Shrikes, Kites and Kestrels
indeed, the whole of the insectivorous tribes may be seen
gathered together at every veld-fire when the natives are
burning-off the dead herbage. Feathered crowds dart
hither and thither amid smoke and flame : while the
luckless locusts and grasshoppers are literally hemmed in
between fire and sword. For those few that escape mostly
crippled and singed forthwith find themselves confronted
by an army of Storks and Cranes sedately advancing
in rear of the flames so soon as the burning embers per-
mit. Altogether, a veld-fire affords an interesting episode
in the economy of African bird-life.
CROWS
African Rook Heterocorax capensis. Observed on high ground.
White-necked Raven Corvultur albicollis. At Voi, several of
these handsome birds, as big as European Ravens and
with huge beaks, scavenged quite fearlessly about our
camp.
White-breasted Crow Corvus scapulatus. Common.
NOTE. Crude and incomprehensive as it necessarily is, this List
comprises upwards of sixty species of British birds, including nearly a
score of our smallest and most delicate summer-migrants.
INDEX
AARD-VAARK, 59, 60, 251) -('!>
Aard-wolf, 113, 260
Aggregations, great, of game, 14-
15, 129, 223-4
Aggregations, great, of waterfowl,
37, 137
Alabanyata River, 48, 50, 152, 181
Alertness of game, 292 et scq.
Antelope, Hunter's, 289
, Roan, 2!)
, Sable, 2W-1
Ants, 59, 66, 258
Aoul (?), 126-7, 129
Askaris, 111
A tin Plains, Chaps. XVII., XVIII.,
XIX.
Avocet, 310
Babblers, 251, 328
Baboon, 10, 59, 136
Baden-Powell, Genl., 181-2
Bamboo-forest, 191
Barbet, 58, 64, 196, 251, 326
Bee- eaters, 58, 250, 322
Beetles, 213
Benighted, 76, 154
Bird-life, 15-16, 37, 58, 64, 137-8,
241, 248 ct sea.
Bishop-birds, 249, 335
Bittern, 313
I'.. .ni-o, 186, 192, 287-8
I'.r.-K-kcn, 1S9
British birds on Equator, 145, 197,
210, 327, .".2K-9 :;<>. :;:;-, :;:;<;
Buffalo, 152, 153, Chap. XVI., 257
Bulbul, 58, <;:;, :;L'S
Bush-buck, 34, 192, 195
Bush-cuckoo, 16, 58, 112, 251, 325
Bush-lark, 214, 249, 333-4
Bush -pig, 106
Bush-shrike, 64, 194, 331
Bustard, Bush-, 50, 312
, Kori, 15, 76, 10(5, 311
Buzzard, 59, 320
Camp-life, Chap. X.
Canary, 334 (note)
Caracal, 33
Caterpillars, venomous, 255
Chanter's Ileedbuck, 10, 135 6, 183,
210
Cheetah, 28
Civet, 261-2
Cobra, Hooded, 228-9, 281
Coke's Hartebeest, 201 et seq., 230
et seq. , 253
Coly, 64, 251, 275, 325
Coot, Crested, 307
Cormorants, 219, 317
Coucal, 16, 58, 112, 251, 325
Courser, 214, 310
Crakes, 307
Crane, Crowned, 15, 17, 224, 312
, Great Wattled, 37, 312
Crows, 336
Crocodile, 34, 62, 219, 220
Cuckoos, 325. (See also Coucal)
Curlew, 308
Dace, 221
Danger, 278-9
Darter, 37, 219, 317
Deaths among Safari, 149-50, 236
Development of B.E.A., 133, 173-4,
183-5, 187-8
Dikdik, 30, 34, 99-101, 136, 210,
256
Dotterel, Asiatic, 213
Doves, 58-9, 112, 307
Drongo, 18, 251, 331
Ducks, 17, 137, 141, 315
Duiker, 30, 34, 106, 210
Dunlin, 213
Eagle, Bateleur, 59, 130, 197, 224
-, Black-crested Hawk-, 212,
319
-, Crowned Hawk-, 211-12, 224,
319
337
338
INDEX
Eagle, Tawny, 130, 319
, White-headed, 16, 03, 130,
319
Eagle-owl, 58, 211, 320
Eburu, 10, 131
Egret, 36, 64, 275, 313
Eland, 14, 35, 57, 77-8, 94, 102
etseq., 122, 129, 168 et seq., 252,
256
Electric flash-lights in heavens, 181,
222
Elephant, 54, Chap. VI. , 128,
Chap. XIII.
Enderit River, 17, 18 et seq.
Ferns, 191
Fever, malarial, 5-6, 7, 128, 150,
151, 153, 300
Finfoot, Peter's, 307-8
Fireflies, 241
Flamingo, 37-8, 138, 148, 316
Flies, plagues of, 57, 59, 255
Florican, 50, 312
Fly-catchers (unknown), 194, 327
Francolin, 16, 80, 112, 208, 247,
252, 304-5
Frogs, 81, 181
Game Reserves (East Africa), 207,
298 et seq.
Game Reserves (Transvaal), 5
Game-traps (Native), 256
Garganey, 137, 316
Gazelle, Grant's, 14, 25-6, 85, 129
, Peter's, 85-6, 87
, Thompson's, 15, 126, 135, 178
(note), 223
Genet, 247, 262
Geese, Egyptian, 16, 50, 129, 315
, Pigmy, 315
, Spurwing, 51, 137, 315
Gerenuk, 289
Giraffe, 32, 78, 86, 223^, 241, 252
Glossy Ibis. (See Ibis)
Glossy Starling, 64, 275, 335-6
Gnu, White-bearded, 201 et seq.,
208, 217, 226, 228 et seq.
Goliath Heron, 37-8, 138, 141,
313
Grant's Gazelle, 14, 25-6, 85 (specific
note), 129
"Grass Antelopes," 30, 34
Grebe, 37, 138, 308
Greenshank, 138, 141, 308
Guereza Monkey, 195
Guinea-fowl, 16, 60, 80, 112, 128,
305-6
Gulls, 37
Hammer-head, 219, 313
Hannington, Lake, 57
Hare, "Jumping," 16
Harrier, Hen-, 213, 320
- Marsh-, 320
others, 3'Ji )
Hartebeest, Coke's, 201-2 et seq.,
230 et seq., 253
, Jackson's, 51 -3, 99, 181-2, 293
, Neumann's, 19, 35-6, 121 et
seq., 181-2
Hedgehog, 79
Helmet-shrike, 252, 330
Herons, 37, 64, 219, 313
, Buff-backed, 51, 219, 275. 313
, Goliath, 37-8, 138, 141, 313
Hippopotamus, 26, 35, 38, 137 et
seq., 143 et seq., 219, 221
Honey-guide, 267 et seq., 327
Hoopoe, 247-8, 322
Hornbills, 16, 58, 192-3-4, 197, 251,
323-4
Hunter's Antelope, 289
Hunting-dog, 33, 176-7, 291
Hyena, Spotted, 15, 97, 112, 149-
50, 210, 225
, Striped, 124-5
Hylachcems, 77-9, 186, 287
Hyrax, 214, 224
Ibis, 37, 138, 141, 314
, Wood-, 15, 219, 314
Iguanas, 283
Impala, 25, 32, 86, 97-8, 129
Instinct, animal-, 30-1, 83-4, i:J7.
232
Ivory, 162-3, 165
Jabiru, 37, 39, 138, 314
Jacana, 64, 311
Jackal, Black-backed, 137
-Common, 20, 146, 137, 214,
226
Jackson's Hartebeest, 51-3, 99,
181-2, 293
Kenya, Mount, 241
Kestrel, 224, 320
Kilimanjaro, 241
Kingfisher, 58, 64, 250, 321-2
Kishobo, 187
INDEX
339
Kites, 213, 320
Klipspringer, 12, 177
Koodoo, Greater, 57, 93, 291
, Lesser, 237, 256, 292
Dirks, 50, 144-5, 214, 249, 332,
333
Laziness of Natives Njemps, 71
Leopard, 27-8, 3(5, 135, 177
Lion, 2(5, 33, Chap. IV., 48, 131,
172-3, 207, 208 et *eq., 238 et seq.,
245-(5, 21):;
Li/ard, 2K5
Locusts, 91)
Lukenia, 214, 225
Lynx, 33, r 1
Makindu, 252, 300
Mallard, African, 137, 141, 14(5-7,
315
Manilas, 281-2
Marabou, 15, IK), 314
Marsh-owl, 79, 320
Masai, 13, 26, 37, 48, 49, 71, 108,
12S, 131, 152, 174
Meningai, Crater, 183
Migration, big game, 74, 105, 122,
12!) (note), 134, 181, 217, 237
Migration, bird-, 144-5, 320, 329-30
Millipedes, HKJ, 213
Mongoose, 33, 113, 262
Monitors, 283
Monkey, 18, 241
, Guerewi, 195
Mosquito, 59, 255
Music, Native, 56, 117-8
Mutiny in Safari, 236, 286
,\(,i|.ara, 111, 119, 284-5
Neophron, 19, 318-9
Neumann, Arthur, 81
Neumann's Hartebeest, 19, 35-6,
121 vt .*-,/., 181-2
Nightjar, 90, 112,. 197, 210, 219,
324
Njemps, 62-3 et seq.
Oribi, 33, 165, 177
Orioles, Golden, 250, 335
Oryx l.eisa, 79, 81 et seq., 97, 237
- Callotis, 237, 241, 246-7, 256
Ostrich, 15, 50-1, 53, 141, 165-6,
201-2
Otocyon, 113
Owl, Eagle-, 58, 211, 320
Owl, Marsh-, 79, 320
, Scops, 213, 320
Ox-peckers. (See Tick-birds)
Parrots, 18, 64, 321
Pelicans, 37, 50, 138, 148, 317,
208
Peter's Gazelle, 85-6, 87
Pigeons, wild, 194, 248, 306
Pintail, 137, 141, 316
Plague (in Nairobi), 236
Plovers, 64, 138, 178, 275, 308
, Ringed, 213, 308
, Spurwing, 16, 64, 138, 308
, Stone, 311
Pochard, African, 137, 316
, Maccoa, 137, 316
Porcupine, 210, 261
Pratincole, 213, 310-11
Protective coloration, 10, 32, 220
(croc.)
Protection of big game, Chap.
XXV., p. 295
Puff-adder, 152, 281, 282
Python, 281, 282-3
Quail, 16, 80, 247, 305
Quagga, 20
Rail, 64, 307
Ratel, 113, 263
Raven, White-necked, 50, 336
Reedbuck, Chanler's, 10, 135-6,
183, 210
, Common, 56
, East-African Bohor, 55-6,
125, 177
-, Rhooi, 10
Rhinoceros, Chap. VIII., 138 et
seq:, 154, 169 et seq., 177 et seq.,
242 et seq.
Rift Valley, Chaps. II., III.
Roan Antelope, 290
Rock-sparrow, 60
Roller, 247-8, 275, 322
Ruff, 141, 308
Sable Antelope, 290-1
Saddle-bill. (See Jabiru)
Sand-grouse, 306
Sandpipers, 37, 64, 141, 308
, Green, 141, 308
Scorpion, 283
Secretary-bird, 214, 235-5, 317
Shoveler, 137, 141, 146, 316
340
INDEX
Shrikes, 04, 194, 251, 252, 272 et
seq., 330-1
Situtunga, 288-9
Snakes, 228, 280 et seq.
Snipes, 208, 310
, Solitary, 146, 310
Somali Hunters, 227
Sotik, 188, 191, 195-6, 199
Spurfowl, 247, 252, 304
Squirrel, Ground-, 33, 257
Stalking problems, 28-9, 105, 134
Steinbuck, 30, 34, 106, 165, 210,
253
Stilts, 141, 146, 308-9
Storks, Saddle-billed, 37, 39, 138,
314
, (various), 37, 213, 314
Suk, 101
Sultan Hamud, 252 et seq.
Sunbirds, 16, 250-1, 331
Swahili, 8, 42, 108, 115 (note),
117-8
Swallows, 144, 210, 327
Swifts, 325
Teal, 137
- Hottentot, 316
Thompson's Gazelle, 15, 126, 135,
178 (note), 223
Thomson, Joseph, 63, 73
Tick-birds, 274-5
Ticks, 235, 245, 275
Tiger-cat, 24, 33
Tits, 194, 331
Topi, 289-90
Tortoises, Land-, 220
Touraco, 16, 194, 271-2, 325-6
Transvaal, big game of, 2
, incidents in, 127, 233, 290-1,
282-3, 300
Tree-pipit, 145, 210, 329, 332
Tsetse-fly, 7, 252, 284, 300-1
Turtles, Water-, 220
Uganda i ail way, 3, 0, 9, 180, 201,
226, 238
Veld-fires, 336
Venison, antelope, 116-17
Voi, 256
Vultures, 19-20, 120, 130, 318
Wilding-birds, 308
Wagtails (yellow and grey), 210, 332
Wait-a-bit thorn, 235-6
Wandorobo, 101, 107, 110
- Sotik, 195-0, 199
Wart-hog, 30, 127-8, 134, 182-3, L'L'ti
Waterbuck, Common, 204, 217, 241
, Sing-sing (defassa), 21-4, 51,
63, 106, 175 et seq.
Waterfowl, variety of, 37, 137
Water-hen, 307
Waxbills, 335
Weather, 76, 112-13, 221-2
Weaver-finch, 5H, 00, 219, 249-50,
334-5
Whale-bill Stork, 37, :',!:!
Wheatear, 145, 210, 328
Whimbrel, 308
White-eyes (Zaajerotw), 04
Whydah-finch, 50, 335
Wildebeest. (See Gnu)
Willow-wren, 197, 329
Wood-hoopoe, 242, 248, 323
Wood-ibis, 15, 219
Woodpeckers, 64, 196, 327
Xanthophilus bojeri, 249, 335
Ya-Nabanda, 57, 102, 293
Yellow-bill (see Mallard)
Zambesi, 3
Zebra, 19-20, 32, 107, 226, 253-4,
293
Zosterops, 64
THE END
Richard Cluy Sf Sons, Limited, London and liunyay.
University of California
SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388
Return this material to the library
from which it was borrowed.
j
C
OTC'B >
Series 9482
3 1205 00388 7518
00058097
University of
Southern I
Library F
