6 THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 



rough ranges of mountains through which are no 

 known tracks. On all other sides are arid and nearly 

 gameless wastes. Until we entered the country there 

 had been no especial reason to believe these wastes were 

 not continuous. 



Thus the people naturally given to adventure were 

 discouraged from taking a go-look-see by a combination 

 of natural barriers, racial diffidence, and political and 

 official red tape. Beside which the English had not 

 yet come to an end of their own possibilities in British 

 East Africa; and the race in possession simply did not 

 care enough about sport to go so far merely to see more 

 animals than they would see nearer home. In other 

 words, from the German side this patch on the map 

 was much too far; from the British side it was practically 

 inaccessible. 



With this brief but necessary explanation accom- 

 plished, we can go on. It must be remembered that 

 when Cuninghame and I first began to consider this 

 matter there was no suspicion of the existence of any 

 large, unexplored hunting fields. South Africa is fin- 

 ished; Nyassaland offers good sport, but is unhealthy, 

 and the species to be obtained are limited in number; 

 small open areas in the Congo, Uganda, the Sudan, 

 offer miscellaneous shooting, but are isolated and remote; 

 Rhodesia and British East Africa are the great game 

 countries par excellence, and these, while wonderful, 

 are well known. There is no lack of game in these 



