( 211 ) 



on the sonthern shores of Lake Nyassa. It is never seen on the hiffber )]lateaiix 

 snch as the TnchUa Plain (3000 feet). 



Where there are open spaces, or " dambos '" as they are termed, intermingled 

 with open woodland and small thorny nndergrowtli along the banks of the Shire 

 River, with no villages in the neighbonrhood, there may you look and make certain of 

 finding Pallah. I found adult males to be as rare as the females were common. 

 Tliongh they are very watchful they are also most inquisitive, and, if they are not 

 fired at, will retreat in front of yon, gradually increasing their distance, and con- 

 stantly stop to have another look at you. Twice I have known them to huddle up 

 together in a crowd when shot at unawares, and run hither and thither, without any 

 fixed plan of escape. In their comj)any I have seen zebras, waterbuck, and 

 Lichtenstein's hartebeest. They are very tenacious of life, and one animal ran 3o 

 yards (out of my sight), though I had raked it from breast to stern with a "oOO 

 bullet which passed through the centre of its heart. 



One doe which I shot on February (ith, 1806, was in milk, but I saw no young 

 one in her neighbourhood. Frequently I stood and watched hundreds of does together 

 in one troop, without being able to find a liack to fire at. 



The flesh of this antelope is, to my mind, the most delicious that can be obtained 

 for the table. 



The best measurements I got of a mnh' were as follows : — 



Nose to tail , 58J inches. 



Height at shoulder 3.SJ „ 



Point of shoulder to nose . , . . .17^,. 



Girth of neck . . — 15 inches behind head + '20i inches before shoulders. 



„ behind shoulders 344 inches. 



„ of barrel (? distended by flatus) 41A ,, 



,, before hips 34| ,, 



„ of arm 8f inches ; thigh 12J „ 



12. The Bushbuck. Tragelaphus scriptus roualeyni Gord. Cumm. 



This shy animal is widely distributed throughout the wliole of Nyassaland 

 where I had the chance of shooting. 



Nowhere is it so plentiful as on the Zomba Range ; I shot one at oOOfi feet 

 elevation, and they are still plentiful there despite the ravages of leopards, etc. 

 From this locality I saw no fewer than three pairs of horns over 15 inches in 

 length, so that they may be termed a fine race. 



It is on the edges of thick cover just after sunrise or before sunset that you 

 occasionally meet with them, daintily threading their way along with every sense 

 on the alert, and ready at the least alarm tci plunge into the adjacent bush. 



The male is of a bluish slate-colour, and has no stripes, but large white spots 

 on flanks ; the neck is almost devoid of hair. I find a doe described in my note- 

 book : — Body a lovely bright yellow ; this tint is accentuated on the buttocks and 

 saddle. From the middle line of the bai^k were four or five indistinct white lines 

 that ran roughly ])arallel with each other across the bairei and at riglit angles to the 

 spine. There were a few large white spots, especially marked over the buttocks. 

 Hoofs were distinctly lengthened. 



A doe shot on October 11th, 189r), ('ontained a three-months' fa^us, and another 

 shot on June 1 1th, IsOo, had its udder full of milk and weighed just (H> lbs. 



