128 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



spread out over the plain like Masai cattle, apparently 

 grazing on flints. Three or four sullen rhinoceroses, 

 their hides red with dried mud, stand like statues 

 save for the continual flicking of their shapeless ears. 

 A great herd of zebras equine giants beautifully 

 striped in sable and silver the magnificent Grevy's 

 species bask at a water hole after drinking ; mixed 

 with them is a troop of large antelopes with long 

 rapier horns, faces smartly pied in black and white, 

 and tawny coats smartened by a lateral line of sable. 

 These are the handsome beisa antelope of Somaliland 

 and British East Africa ; grand animals indeed from 

 the sportsman's and naturalist's standpoint, gallant 

 quarry and strikingly picturesque formidable foes 

 too, on occasion, as both man and beast have learnt 

 before now. 



The beisa (Oryx beisa) baet of the Somalis 

 stands about four feet high at the shoulder ; it is 

 specially noteworthy for the long beautiful horns 

 which, sweeping almost directly backwards in the 

 plane of the face, are annulated for two-thirds their 

 length, smooth and pointed at the tip. The figure 

 is sturdy, with rather high withers ; the neck-mane 

 is directed fot^wards ; there is no tuft of hair on the 

 throat, but the tail is tasselled. In general coloration 

 the harsh coat of the beisa recalls that of a donkey 

 a semblance heightened by the curious facial markings, 

 which suggest a headstall. A black triangular patch, 

 with its base at the base of the horns, decorates the 



