I20 ANTELOPES 



its relative the bastard -hartebeest or sassaby is esteemed for its 

 superiority in that respect by the natives of South Africa. The 

 animals seem, moreover, to be generally in good condition, for all that 

 I shot were very fat. This antelope seems to be among the species 

 which are purely grazers, living, so far as I was able to observe, on 

 grass and other herbage to the exclusion of leaves, etc. It affects the 

 open plains near Lake Rudolf, but also wanders through the more 

 open parts of the bush ; and in Sotike I found it frequenting swampy 

 glades on the borders of the forest. In Reshiat, at all events, it is 

 not ordinarily difficult to get within range of the topi ; and I could 

 generally obtain one or two whenever I wanted, and on one occasion 

 killed two with one bullet. 



" As in the case of all gregarious animals, the strongest males 

 drive out their weaker brethren from amiong the herds of cows ; and 

 these vanquished bulls congregate in separate herds, or sometimes a 

 sullen old bachelor is found alone or associating with a herd of Grant's 

 gazelles. The El Gume natives trap them with an ingenious snare, 

 which is made from twisted strips of hide, laid up exactly like the 

 ' neck-strop ' used to yoke bullocks in South Africa, with a running 

 noose at each end. A contrivance like a little wheel without a nave, 

 with an inordinate number of spokes (sharpened at the end pointing to 

 the centre), is placed over a circular hole dug in a path or crossing much 

 frequented by game, and on the outer edge of this the loop of one end 

 of the snare is laid, a log being attached to the other. On an antelope 

 treading on this trap (which is covered over with grass, etc.) its foot 

 goes through the centre of the wheel, when the converging spokes hold 

 fast to its fetlock, preventing the noose from slipping off until the latter 

 is drawn tight. Then the topi starts off with the log dragging and 

 bumping beside or behind it, alternately making short bursts and 

 turning to face the log, which it cannot shake off, until, tired out, it 

 falls an easy prey to the trapper. 



" The herds used to come down in the evening or during the night 

 to drink at the lake ; and it w^as in their paths leading to the water 

 that these snares were often set. I have seen the Reshiat natives 

 trying to cut them off when a large herd had approached the shore 

 and chasing them with their spears, but they never seemed to kill any ; 

 and, indeed, they are such poor hunters that the topi may sometimes 

 be seen in the early morning feeding quite close to their kraals, having 

 apparently little fear of them. 



"The horns of my best male specimen measure 19 inches along 

 the front curve." 



