vi PREFACE 



a total of upwards of Jifty distinct varieties of big game 

 in three trips. This compares w\t\\ fourteen species, the 

 net result of many years' strenuous hunting in Europe. 

 And, quite recently, three Spanish friends have returned 

 from British East Africa with a total of thirty-five 

 species secured in a single season. 



The antelope-tribe alone counts upwards of forty 

 members — from elands of 2000 lbs. to dikdiks of under 

 ten ; then there are the beasts of prey, the three 

 great pachyderms, giraffes and zebras, buffaloes, and a 

 mixed multitude besides. Beyond all stand out on the 

 hunter's horizon the elephant and the lion. These 

 two constitute his supreme triumph, being not only the 

 most difficult to encounter, but the most dangerous to 

 attack. 



Then these equatorial forests shelter two great wild 

 animals, to the full as interesting as the much-discussed 

 okajji, yet practically unknown, to wit : — that splendid 

 bovine antelope the Bongo, a bull of which has never 

 yet fallen by white hunter's hand ; and the Giant 

 Forest-hog (Jlylochcerus), a first example of which has, 

 I hear, been obtained while these sheets are in Press. 



The author's companion throughout nearly the whole 

 of his East-African wanderings was his brother, Walter 

 Ingram Chapman, with whom he had previously com- 

 pleted many hunting-trips, chiefl}^ in Nortljern Europe, 

 Newfoundland, etc. 



The illustrations are drawn almost exclusively from 

 rough sketches made by the author in Africa — some on 

 the actual scene, others in camp immediately thereafter 

 while impression remained vivid on the mental retina. 

 To ensure a hio;her level of artistic excellence in re- 

 production, the aid was invoked of Mr. E. Caldwell, 

 himself fresh from a year spent among African game. 

 His skilled and patient collaboration, extending over 

 several months, has evolved this series of drawings, that 

 faithfully depict in life many of the most magnificent 

 wild beasts that to-day remain existent. That none 

 more true have ever before appeared on paper is the 



