THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



As there is nothing in the way of game on these plains 

 that the hunter may not secure more easily, and that with 

 better horns and finer manes in other, much healthier 

 places, there is no necessity to hunt here, where the ani- 

 mals are much more shy than almost anywhere else in 

 the Protectorate, because so often molested by people from 

 near-by Nairobi. Besides this, there is very little genuine 

 " sport " in such hunting, or, let me say, killing of game 

 on the Athi plains, for hunting in its true sense includes 

 skillful and difficult tracking and stalking, of which there 

 can be no question here. Let me explain without exagger- 

 ation how most men " hunt " on these plains. 



With a couple of gun bearers and a few porters to carry 

 the meat and trophies back to camp, the newcomer starts 

 out from his camp generally not very early in the morning. 

 Soon he sees in front of him a herd of zebra and harte- 

 beest, often feeding together. They are calmly grazing 

 at a distance of six to seven hundred yards. As there are 

 no trees for cover, not even an ant-hill to stalk behind, he 

 simply marches on, making straight for the animals. Sud- 

 denly, one of the more watchful hartebeests notices him 

 and, as at a word of command, the whole herd swings 

 around and faces him for a moment, the zebra looking par- 

 ticularly pretty, as their shining black and white stripes 

 alternately appear in the sunlight or the shadow. 



There are still over five hundred yards to the herd, 

 and carefully the hunter pushes on. The next moment, 

 however, the herd turns with jumps and all kinds of queer 

 antics, and ofif they go at a gallop for a couple of hundred 

 yards or more. Then they stop, some begin to graze again, 

 while one or two seem to be keeping a sharp lookout for 



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