Fine Roan Antelope Seen. 41 



As there were more roan antelopes about and I wanted 

 their blood for smears, I went out on the nth, and when 

 tramping along with Zovi I saw a herd of the wanted 

 animals, so I shot two, a bull and a cow. The bull had a 

 pretty, though not long, pair of horns, as they only measured 

 26in. on the curve. 



The best roan head I ever saw is, unhappily, not in my 

 collection, as he went off, taking with him a really fine pair 

 of horns. It was on a wet day, as I was tramping from the 

 Luangwa River to Fort Jameson, in North-Eastern Rhodesia, 

 and I was within eight miles of Sasare Mine at the time. 

 As I led the party, with a man behind carrying my rifle in 

 its cover to protect it from the wet, I suddenly saw the roan 

 standing in a small dambo within seventy yards of the road. 

 He saw us at the same moment, but did not run at once. 

 I sprang for the rifle and dragged it from its cover and 

 pumped a cartridge into the barrel from the magazine. 

 Just at this moment the roan turned and went off very fast, 

 and I am sorry to say that I missed him clean. 



If I had not been very tired at the time, for I had come 

 a long way that day, I would have followed him up and tried 

 my best to kill him, as I saw that he had a lovely head. I 

 had just got this rifle out from home, and did not know its 

 shooting well, or I might have made a slightly better shot. 

 It is often the way that the best heads are presented to one 

 like this, and all the best trophies I have heard of as being 

 .shot in Central Africa have been due to lucky chances, and 

 not to persistent efforts in tracking up, or looking for, an 

 exceptional animal. 



Captain Stigand's kudu was come on by chance, and the 

 best buffalo head procured in North-Eastern Rhodesia was 

 shot by a Mr. Grimes the poor fellow soon after contracted 

 sleeping sickness, of which he died who was told by the 

 natives that a big buffalo had been coming to their gardens, 

 near where his camp was pitched. He went out and 

 killed it with a '405 Winchester nitro rifle, and its horns 

 measured over 48in, outside measurement, and, moreover, 

 they were beautifully shaped and more closely resembled 



