THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



for the purpose of greasing guns and knives, in which re- 

 spect eland marrow fat is without a superior. 



The eland is quite easily tamed and could, I believe, 

 with great advantage, be domesticated, and also crossed 

 with native cattle, which doubtlessly would procure a su- 

 perior race, for the milk of the eland cow is very fine and 

 rich. Some government officials have been of the opinion 

 that the eland should be withdrawn from the list of ani- 

 mals allowed to be killed without a special license, as they 

 believe that, if domesticated, it would materially improve 

 the native stock of the country. Elands have been easily 

 brought over to the different zoological parks of the civ- 

 ilized world, and thrive in the open, even in England, if 

 only protected during the coldest part of the winter. 



The Roan antelope is another of the large and beau- 

 tiful animals of this group. A few decades ago this animal 

 was found almost all over Africa, from the vicinity of Cape 

 Town up to the southern part of the Sahara Desert, with 

 the only exception of the damp Congo forest. To-day the 

 roan is totally exterminated in all parts of Southern Af- 

 rica, below the Limpopo River. From this region, how- 

 ever, as far north as to the Upper Nile, the lovely roan 

 still exists, although never in abundance, nor in such vast 

 herds as many other antelopes. 



The roan selects his feeding grounds with a great deal 

 of care and " taste," and being very fond of good water, 

 he is never found very far from some stream or water 

 hole. He seems to love a parklike, half-open bush coun- 

 try with undulating hills. One of his favorite feeding 

 grounds in British East Africa is the beautiful wooded 

 valley on either side of the Uganda Railroad, between the 



1 60 



