TO THE UASIN GISHU 365 



'Ndorobo. They are as large as native bullocks, with hand- 

 somely striped skins, and both sexes carry horns. On each 

 of the three days we followed them all day long, and it 

 was interesting to trace so much as we could of their habits. 

 Their trails are deeply beaten, and converge toward the 

 watercourses, which run between the steep, forest-clad 

 spurs of the mountains. They do not graze, but browse, 

 cropping the leaves, flowers, and twigs of various shrubs, 

 and eating thistles; they are said to eat bark, but this our 

 'Ndorobo denied. They are also said to be nocturnal, feed- 

 ing at night, and lying up in the daytime; but this was 

 certainly not the case with those we came across. Both of 

 the herds, which we followed patiently and cautiously for 

 hours without alarming them, were feeding as they moved 

 slowly along. One herd lay down for a few hours at noon; 

 the other kept feeding until mid-afternoon, when we alarmed 

 it; and the animals then went straight up the mountain 

 over the rimrock. It was cold rainy weather, and the dark 

 of the moon, which may perhaps have had something to 

 do with the bongo being on the move and feeding during 

 the day; but the 'Ndorobo said that they never fed at night 

 I of course know nothing about this personally. Leop- 

 ards catch the young bongo and giant hog, but dare not 

 meddle with those that are full-grown. The forest which 

 they frequent is so dense, so well-nigh impenetrable, that 

 half the time no man can follow their trails save by bend- 

 ing and crawling, and cannot make out an object twenty 

 yards ahead. It is extraordinary to see the places through 

 which the bongo pass, and which are their chosen haunts. 

 While Lord Delamere and I were hunting in vain Kermit 

 was more fortunate. He was the guest of Barclay Cole, 



