336 AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 



spots and reedbeds. The country was rolling, and covered 

 with fine grass, unfortunately so tall as to afford secure 

 cover for lions. There were stretches bare of trees, and 

 other stretches with a sparse, scattered growth of low 

 thorns or of the big, glossy-leaved bush which I have spoken 

 of as the African jessamine because of the singularly sweet 

 and jessamine-like fragrance of its flowers. Most of these 

 bushes were in full bloom, as they had been six months 

 before on the Athi and three months before near Kenia; 

 some bore berries, of which it is said that the wild elephant 

 herds are fond. 



It is hard to lay down general rules as to the blossoming 

 times of plants or breeding times of animals in equatorial 

 Africa. Before we left the Uasin Gishu table-land some 

 of the hartebeest cows appeared with new-born calves. 

 Some of the acacias had put forth their small, globular, 

 yellow blossoms, just as the acacias on the Athi plains were 

 doing in the previous May. The blue lupins were flower- 

 ing, for it is a cool, pleasant country. 



Our camp here was attractive, and Kermit and I took 

 advantage of our leisure to fill out the series of specimens 

 of the big hartebeest and the oribi which Heller needed 

 for the National Museum. The flesh of the oribis was re- 

 served for our own table; that of the kongonis which had 

 been duly hallalled by the Moslems among our gun-bearers 

 was turned over to what might be called the officers* 

 mess of the safari proper, the headmen, cooks, tent boys, 

 gun-bearers, and saises; while of course the skinners and 

 porters who happened to be out with us when any animal 

 was slain got their share of the meat. We also killed two 

 more hyenas; one, a dog, weighed one hundred and twenty 



