192 STALKS ABROAD 



the trees. This turned out to be a cow eland, and 

 I presently made out a large number. A herd of 

 impala were feeding near, and a couple of oryx, some 

 gazelle and zebra completed the group. 



By the way, when spying from behind a tree get 

 the shady side of it, as then the sun will not glint 

 on your glass. A convenient nullah assisting us, we 

 got safely ensconced behind a big cactus. Within a 

 hundred yards some eland were sheltering under a 

 tree, and as I watched more came stringing out of 

 the bushes on my right to join them. In colouring 

 they were almost exactly like a red deer hind. They 

 were all cows and calves with one or two young bulls, 

 and must have numbered nearly fifty. It seemed 

 unlikely that there should be no good bull with them, 

 so we decided to wait for a bit. It was well we did 

 so, for last of all, a single cow accompanied by a 

 fairish bull suddenly made their appearance, sedately 

 walking towards the rest of the herd. 



I had only a '275, but he gave me a beautiful 

 chance at about 60 yards, and one shot high in the 

 shoulder rolled him over like a rabbit. It was curious 

 to hear the tiny crack and see the huge animal drop 

 as if struck by lightning. The cow dashed wildly 

 off and passed me within ten yards, but unfortunately 

 I could not get at the camera in time. 



The hoofs of a bull eland make a noise like 

 castanets. They can be plainly heard at a distance 

 of quite two hundred yards. I was sorry I had 

 shot this bull afterwards, as down on the Tana I 



