140 MY SOMALI BOOK 



two or three days. We were now in Abyssinian 

 territory again and hoped to do some good work. The 

 district has a reputation for lions, though it is nasty 

 bush to tackle them in. There were also said to be a 

 few lesser kudu about, and right out on the ban to 

 the west there was a chance of finding a few hartebeest. 



That afternoon I found there was plenty of typical 

 lesser kudu ground, fairly thick jungle with the hig 

 aloe, which this antelope loves, in abundance. The 

 aloe blossoms, sometimes red and sometimes yellow, 

 added a colour contrast to the green of its fleshy 

 sharply pointed leaves — if leaves is the correct term. 

 Tracks of the kudu themselves also were not lacking. 



Next morning, exploring the edge of the bush, my 

 eye was suddenly caught by the striking black and 

 white pattern on the face of an oryx looking at me 

 through some bushes not forty yards away. He 

 dashed away with a snort, my bullet as he fled being 

 intercepted by a convenient branch which it cut 

 through, but was thereby turned from its path. 



Later we tracked a lesser kudu bull for some time, 

 then lost the tracks but found the kudu, who suddenly 

 dashed away from behind a tree a hundred yards in 

 front, showing a fine pair of horns. For an hour more 

 we tracked him, but he knew too much for us. At 

 length, however, Henduleh suddenly stopped and 

 pointed to some durr grass a hundred yards to the 

 right. I looked and presently made out the indistinct 

 outline of head and two large ears looking at us ; the 

 big ears held forward causing a striking resemblance 

 to a sambar under similar conditions. 



No other part of the animal was visible, and 



