THE LARGER EAST AFRICAN ANTELOPES 



than the other and was killed on the spot by the second 

 bullet, which had broken his back. 



" As soon as I had measured this beautiful specimen 

 and given it over to the second gun bearer and a couple 

 of other men to do the skinning, I went with the first gun 

 bearer and a few other men to the other antelope, which 

 had fallen a little farther away. This fellow, Mabruki, 

 was always very anxious to cut the throat of any ani- 

 mal before it was * stone dead,' as he otherwise, being 

 a strict Mohammedan, would not eat the meat. Seeing 

 that this oryx was not as large as the first one, I told 

 Mabruki that he could put his knife in the throat of the 

 antelope, near the chest, while I took up the tape measure 

 and got the camera ready to take a ' picture study ' at 

 close quarters. Just as I was examining the camera to 

 see if everything was ready for a time exposure I heard 

 Mabruki scream. As I looked up I saw the wounded oryx 

 trying to spear him with his long and sharp horns. Drop- 

 ping the camera, I quickly gave the furious animal another 

 shot, which ended his life. As the oryx was trying to get 

 at the gun bearer, he ejected some ugly-sounding, barking 

 grunts, and I am sure that if I had not been so quick with 

 the gun this time, Mabruki would have been gored by the 

 courageous beast." 



My largest oryx I obtained on the Laikipia Plateau a 

 couple of months later. The horns of this big bull meas- 

 ured, the one twenty-eight and one half inches, and the 

 other one quarter of an inch less, the very tip having been 

 broken off some time previously. Once I noticed that an 

 oryx which we secured near Mt. Kenia must in younger 

 years have had a bad fall from some precipice, for the tips 



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