ANTELOPES 267 



one amongst them which had horns. I decided to stalk it, 

 a comparatively easy matter, owing to the scattered shrubs. 

 I got to within 120 yards of it; but as the animal stood 

 facing me, I was compelled to give it the chest-shot, though 

 I dislike this shot as it rarely bowls the animal over. We 

 found afterwards, on examining the body, that my first shot 

 did enter the chest, but was deflected to the left by the 

 breast-bone ; it penetrated sufficiently far to disable the left 

 fore-leg. 1 fired two more shots at the animal as it galloped 

 off, but missed both times. Fortunately, owing to the wound, 

 it had soon to stop ; and I was able to stalk up to eighty 

 yards and give it the shoulder-shot. It managed, however, 

 to leap away and disappeared behind some ant-hills. When 

 we got to the ant-hills, not a trace of the antelope could 

 we see far or near ; but a diligent search in the grass showed 

 us the animal lying dead. On cutting it up, we found that 

 the second bullet had gone clean through the heart ; and yet 

 the animal was able to give a dozen or more bounds before 

 it fell dead. This may perhaps be accounted for bv its being 

 hit when in full gallop. 



It is of the size of a large stag. The two white patches 

 round the eyes and the white patches on the upper lip are 

 very distinctive. The abdomen is also white ; the rest of the 

 body is a tan, with the exception of a black patch at the knees, 

 and a black line running from the knees down the front of the 

 leg. The Waganda call it the Sunu or Nsunu. The horns 

 start close together upward, then they diverge outwards and 

 backwards ; curving round, they converge inwards and back- 

 wards, then a second bend occurs and the horns terminate 

 curving forwards. The horns are "ringed," with the exception 

 of the last three or four inches, which are smooth and ter- 

 minate in a sharp point. 



The Nswallah. — This is a favourite word with the Swahilies to 

 designate any antelope or gazelle larger than a pah or smaller 

 than a kongoni. It is a very convenient word wherewith to 

 cloak ignorance ; and as I am not certain to which particular 

 species the antelope shown in the illustration belongs, I cannot 

 do better than give it the Swahili name. It was a female without 

 horns, and this makes it doubly difficult to classify it. A shot 

 through the back at two hundred yards laid it low, practically in 

 sight of the camp, and two Soudanese .soldiers at once hurried 



