io8 THE LAND OF THE LION 



hunt perseveringly for months all over the country, see 

 scores of rhino, and yet never come across a horn over sixteen 

 inches. In short, Mr. Ward's measurements are a delusion, 

 an alluring but impossible dream, so far as East Africa is 

 concerned. I fancy the same thing holds good for the whole 

 country. 



But though the great trophies are gone or nearly so, 

 if a man takes the trouble to study the game of the country, 

 and rigorously refrains from blazing at the first thing he 

 can see, if he rises early in the morning, and does not 

 mind an occasional crawl in the sun, he can still secure 

 beautiful trophies, and, what is more, can do so without 

 indiscriminate slaughter, and without measurably dimin- 

 ishing what remains of this wonderful fauna; for an old 

 buck killed, scarcely ever hurts the herd, and it carries 

 almost always the best head. 



Nor can game be approached any longer in the hap- 

 hazard fashion of yore. Now and then, of course, you 

 stumble by good fortune on a desirable beast, but consistent 

 stalking is usually necessary to secure anything worth the 

 having. The sportsman, too, will find that he must take 

 many shots, at a much farther distance, than he would be 

 obliged to do in America, Scotland, or Europe. 



The common animals such at kongoni, zebra, Tommy, 

 and rhino, usually permit a close shot. Waterbuck and 

 oryx will now and then let you near. On some days 

 you can quickly walk up to Grant, and pick your head 

 from a herd at one hundred and fifty yards, but you will 

 not get such chances every day. Far the larger number of 

 shots made are over one hundred and fifty yards, and 

 often over two hundred, sometimes over three hundred, 

 which is a long shot. It follows, then, that old-fashioned 

 rifles (and the fashion in rifles changes almost as rapidly 

 as that of our clothes), form a poor battery. Black powder 

 guns of all sorts are, of course, to be left at home; .500 



