THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



CHAPTER I 



BRITISH EAST AFRICA 



British East Africa being not only the best country 

 in the world for big game hunting, the size of the animals, 

 and the multitude of the different species considered, but 

 also of all big game countries by far the healthiest and 

 most easily reached, I shall in the following chapters deal 

 exclusively with that country, its climate, topography, sea- 

 sons, game, and natives. 



Barring the low and unhealthy coast belt on the Indian 

 Ocean, where no game worth shooting exists (with the 

 exception of elephants, having small tusks of comparatively 

 poor quality, buffaloes, with not nearly as fine heads as 

 their upland kinsfolk, and the beautiful sable antelope), the 

 greater part of the Protectorate has a healthful climate. 

 But the sable antelope, which many hunters class as the 

 finest of the antelopes, exists in British East Africa, alas ! 

 only on and around the Shimba Hills, not very far from 

 Mombasa. Yet even this stately antelope develops here 

 horns that cannot be compared with those from other 

 inland places, as, for instance, German East Africa and 

 farther south. 



From the narrow coast belt the Uganda Railroad be- 

 gins to climb the inland plateaus and soon reaches an alti- 

 tude of 1,830 feet at Voi, 5,250 feet at Matchakos, and 



I 



