APPENDICES 453 



horn is a fair specimen. Be merciful to the pretty fellow, 

 don't shoot him for your men. And when you shoot (he is a 

 small mark) shoot to miss or kill by shooting well forward. 



Reed-buck: 



Very widely distributed, wherever there are reeds or 

 damp ground. A good buck will weigh almost one hun- 

 dred and fifty pounds. Short horns, curving forward. 

 An easy antelope to stalk and kill. Rather poor eating. 



Bush-buck: 



One of the prettiest trophies in Africa. Dark red colour, 

 horn straight, very sharp and very strong. The cry is 

 strange, almost a dog's bark. The flesh good food. He 

 keeps close during daytime. Early morning and late even- 

 ing finds him feeding round the outside of the thick coverts 

 he loves. The steep slopes falling toward Embellossett 

 Swamp are one of his most favourite resorts. On the bor- 

 ders of many swampy rivers of the Nzoia plateau he is 

 common, and large heads can be shot. High up in bam- 

 boo and elephant country you find him. Bush-buck 

 take some looking for, but are well worth it. An eighteen- 

 inch horn measured along the curving rib is a good speci- 

 men. Why Ward so measures bush-buck horns I don't 

 know. I should have thought that straight measurement 

 from base to tip was the simplest and fairest. 



Oraby: 



A beautiful little antelope. A more constant jumper 

 than any other. Weighs not more than fifty pounds. 

 Short, sharp horns, six inches a fair head, hinged at the 

 base. Perhaps the best venison in East Africa. In the 

 hills to the east of Punda Melia, nowhere else so far as I 

 know near Nairobi. Very common on the Nzoia plateau. 

 Rather rare at Laikipia. Here and there south of the rail- 

 road and very abundant as you approach the great lake. 



Kobus Kob: 



A fine antelope. Only found in one place within the 



