xxix ANIMALS OF THE BACK BLOCKS 285 



the thick bush country up to Kitui ; the slopes of Elgon 

 and the trans- Nzoia country, where again they consist 

 mostly of cows ; the thick bush round the Tsavo river, 

 where there are some good bulls existent ; the Mumoni 

 Hills, the Lorian swamp, both Game Reserves, 

 though much more numerous in the northern, near 

 and about Lake Rudolf, and in the thorn scrub of the 

 neighbourhood, at certain seasons, between Mombasa 

 and Malindi. 



The best shots are the brain shot, at a spot between 

 the eye and ear-hole, and naturally varying and be- 

 coming lower as the beast is more closely approached, 

 and the heart shot, at a spot behind and beneath the 

 shoulder, approximately where the lowest point of the 

 ear would come if lain back and against the side. 

 The heart comes very low down, and the shooter is 

 unlikely to aim below it. On the whole most of the 

 more experienced hunters prefer the latter if they 

 have a choice. The heart is much the larger mark, 

 being roughly about the size of a stable bucket, and 

 there is also an excellent chance of missing the heart 

 and piercing the lungs. A head shot, if not im- 

 mediately fatal, does no harm whatever. Occasionally 

 a leg shot or one at the backbone may be useful in 

 disabling a wounded animal. 



The Bongo is one of those elusive forest animals 

 which for so long baffled the skill and energy of our 

 best hunters. Very large in bulk — being exceeded 

 therein among antelopes only by the eland, and 

 possibly by the kudu — and comparatively common, 

 it was only in recent times that his presence and 

 locality were definitely ascertained. Mr. F. J. 

 Jackson, for instance, though for many years aware 

 of its existence, spent long and arduous hunts with- 



