12 



ON SAFARI 



white-fringed tails; but they proved "too much" for 

 us. They were in little groups of three or four up to a 

 dozen, and all day the bucks kept beyond my reach, 

 though on several occasions the hornless does were 

 within shot. 



Being still weak from fever, I found this hill- 

 climbing rather heavy work, and thought to organise 



a "drive." This, 

 however, proved a 

 system hard to in- 

 stil into the savage 

 mind, and though 

 I got one shot, it 

 scored a miss. This 

 was a nice buck, 

 about 100 yards 

 below ; but the 

 aggravating bullet 

 splintered the rock 

 some six inches too 

 high. Chanler's 

 reedbuck beat us 

 both here and on 

 other occasions ; for 

 we met with it again on the crater of Meningai, at 

 Baringo and elsewhere. It is common, we found, on 

 every rocky range or series of detached koppies, jet it 

 was not till our second East-African venture that we at 

 length secured a first example. 



Another rock-jumper, of which we did secure 

 specimens among the Eburu hills, is the klipspringer — 

 an even smaller antelope, the bucks only weighing 25 lbs. 

 The upright hoofs resemble those of ibex rather than 

 antelope, and the sjDoor, when crossing soft ground,, 

 gives an impression that the animal walks on tiptoe ; 

 but among rocks the klipspringer equals the chamois- 

 in bouncing agility. Khpspringers, probably from 

 having been but little disturbed at this spot, were less 

 wild than the other rock-antelopes. They seemed to 



SUNBIRDS 



