TO THE UASIN GISHU 



339 



dently troops of elephants occasionally visited these plains, 

 for the tops of the little thorn-trees were torn off and browsed 

 down by the mighty brutes. How they can tear off and 

 swallow such prickly dainties as these thorn branches, 

 armored with needle-pointed spikes, is a mystery. Tarlton 

 told me that he had seen an elephant, while feeding greedily 

 on the young top of a thorn-tree, prick its trunk until it 

 uttered a little scream or whine of pain; and it then in a 

 fit of pettishness revenged itself by wrecking the thorn-tree. 



Game abounded on the plains. We saw a couple of 

 herds of giraffes. The hartebeests were the most plenti- 

 ful and the least shy; time after time a small herd loitered 

 until we were within a hundred yards before cantering 

 away. Once or twice we saw topi among them; and often 

 there were mixed herds of zebras and hartebeests. Oribi 

 were common, and sometimes uttered a peculiar squealing 

 whistle when they first saw us. The reedbuck also whistled, 

 but their whistle was entirely distinct. It was astonishing 

 how close the reedbuck lay. Again and again we put 

 them up within a few feet of us from patches of reeds or 

 hollows in the long grass. A much more singular habit is 

 the way in which they share these retreats with dangerous 

 wild beasts; a trait common also to the cover-loving bush- 

 buck. From one of the patches of reeds in which Kermit 

 and I shot two hyenas a reedbuck doe immediately after- 

 ward took flight. She had been reposing peacefully during 

 the day within fifty yards of several hyenas! Tarlton had 

 more than once found both reedbuck and bushbuck in com- 

 paratively small patches of cover which also held lions. 



It is, by the way, a little difficult to know what names 

 to use in distinguishing between the sexes of African game. 



