6 THROUGH ANGOLA 



Angola, and similar animals seen by Odium below 

 the southern boundary of Angola, giant or common 

 sable V If they are giant sable, perhaps portions 

 of these southern herds have trekked northwards 

 till Lheir march was stopped by the unfordable 

 nature of such large rivers as the Coanza and 

 Loando, in which waters] led this group of sable 

 now remains, separated from their kin hundreds 

 of miles to the south and south-east. On the 

 other hand, we mav have in this watershed a 



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small family of sable antelope which, through a 

 long residence in special conditions, have altered 

 to a small extent in their skin markings, and 

 developed through special food material the mag- 

 nificent horns which distinguish them. 



My war leave was to start in April 1920, a 

 very suitable date for the trip. 



Angola, being situated south of the Equator, 

 has reversed climatic conditions to those obtaining 

 in Europe or Northern Africa. The hot season 

 and the rainfall occur between October and April, 

 the cold or dry season from May to September, 

 and it was during this part of the year that I 

 hoped to do most of my hunting in Angola. During 

 the rainy season the coarse grass grows here, 

 as elsewhere in Africa, to a height of many feet, 

 and with the thick foliage which the rains have 

 brought to all plant life, it is difficult to see or 

 track game animals. After March and April, 

 when the rains south of the Equator have ceased, 

 and the dry season has commenced, the natives 

 burn the drying grass to make hunting easier, 

 by destroying the cover which hides the game, 



