264 UNDER THE AFRICAN SUN 



As it swam, it only exposed its head and horns ; even the 

 neck was immersed. I had two more shots. The first grazed 

 one of the horns and struck off a spHnter ; the second went 

 into the head. Instantly it sank, head downwards, as if trying 

 to stand on its head, and the hind part of the body came for 

 a second into view. It took some time before one of my men 

 found a spot, where we could cross over to the other bank, and 

 then we had the further trouble of fishing the body out. The 

 horns reached England safely, and are in my collection ; but 

 when I look at them, the whole scene, as it happened in the 

 solitude of the African wilderness, passes before me. 



The horns of the buck impalla form a series of graceful 

 curves ; in their upward curve the direction is at first forward 

 and outward, this changes to backward and outward, and then 

 becomes backward and inward, and finally ends by being 

 forward and inward. The last four niches near the tip are 

 smooth and terminate in a sharp point, the rest of the horn 

 is " ringed." 



The buck shown in the illustration is not the one that gave 

 us so much trouble. It is one that I secured at the Kedong with 

 one bullet. 



The Wildebeest. — The gnu or wildebeest is a singular creature. 

 Its horns remind one of the ox, its tail and mane of the horse, 

 its shaggy tuft of beard of the goat, and yet its trunk and limbs 

 are those of an antelope. There are several species of gnu, but 

 the one seen in these regions is the "blue wildebeest," so called 

 from its bluish silver grey colour. The horns of an old male 

 may be mistaken by the inexperienced as buffalo horns, because 

 they form a similar broad band across the forehead, wide sweep 

 to the side, and sharp terminal curve inwards. Both sexes have 

 horns, but those of the female are more slender. In the young 

 animal the horns take only a slight bend to the side and then 

 run upwards. 



The wildebeest is found either singly or in herds which 

 may vary from a few individuals to many hundreds. The 

 Athi plains and the open grass-lands by Campi-ya-Simba are 

 some of its favourite spots. Where it has been much shot at, it 

 has become shy and timid ; but where shooting is prohibited, 

 as on the Athi plains, it will calmly go on grazing within fifty 

 yards of a passing caravan. It looks a formidable creature, but 

 is really most inoffensive ; even when wounded and pursued, it 



