THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 34> 



humankind. In this country at the time of our visit we 

 found the zebra inhabiting the thin bush. There were plenty 

 of open plains, and occasionally bands of zebra wandered out 

 on them, as do impalla; but by choice, and as a matter of 

 course, they held to the thin thorn scrub, and the Ught 

 growths of small thorn trees. Elsewhere the zebra is a 

 plains-dwelling animal ; and all arguments as to his gaudily 

 striped person have been based on that fact. But else- 

 where he has always been in contact with humankind. It 

 is at least a fair assumption, in view of our observations, 

 that he may have been driven out to the plains,* although 

 I am not yet convinced that such is the case. At any 

 rate, in the thin cover described he is the most invisible of 

 animals. The stripes of white and black so confuse him 

 with the cover that he is absolutely unseen at the most 

 absurd ranges. Time after time not only did Cuninghame 

 and myself fail to make them out even as close as forty and 

 fifty yards, but Kongoni confessed himself baffled. And of 

 the many keen-eyed savages with whom I have had to do, 

 Kongoni can see farthest and best. A switch of the tail, or 

 the actual movement of the head was time and again our 

 first warning. This same cover was open enough so that 

 we could see topi or wildebeeste up to 2co yards. 



The other usual larger inhabitants of this tliin cover 

 were topi, wildebeeste, eland, hartebeeste, and impalla. The 

 smaller antelope I do not count, as they generally lurked 

 in grass or bush. Of these the wildebeestef is to all intents 



* The native most often hunts by driving his game. 



tThe wildebeeste is countershadcd. But mere countershading without 

 the help of a neutral colour is ineffective. Countershading does, how- 

 ever, help the neutral colour. 



