With Flashlig-ht and Rifle -^ 



Their horns were in some cases shattered in quite a 

 remarkable way, whether through knockino- uj) ai;"ainst 

 the trunks of the trees or through fights with other bulls, 

 I cannot say. While the white stripes are very clearly 

 marked in the case of the young animals, they become 

 less and less marked with age, and are barely perceptible 

 on the old bulls ; these bulls become darker and darker, 

 until at last their skins get to be a sort of bluish-black. 



The fiesh of elands, especially of the young animal 

 during the rainy season, is regarded as among the greatest 

 delicacies in those regions. The skins of the bulls entail 

 very troublesome preparation, as they are infested by a 

 peculiar kind of tick, especially about the neck, and are 

 very apt to go bad. 



Another very notable type of African antelope is 

 to be found in the gnus, the " njumbo porrini " of the 

 Waswahili, the " aingat " of the Masai, and the " ngaita"' 

 of the Wandorobo. 



If the white-tailed gnu {Couuoc/urfes gnit), now 

 surviving only in those regions of South Africa — the 

 country of its origin — in which it is preserved, is more 

 bizarre, and has its characteristics more strongly marked, 

 than either the brindled gnu or the white-bearded gnu, 

 the latter can be claimed at least as a very distinctive 

 feature of the fauna of the Masai region and the salt 

 district. Bigger and stronger than the South African 

 gnu, its appearance is much more like that of a buffalo, 

 especially when seen from afar. The first sight of a bull 

 gnu, as it moves along in its trustful, untroubled way, 

 almost always gives the European the idea that he is face 



480 



