396 SAVAGE SUDAN 



Such detail may appear small. It is small. But it is only 

 by small degree and by close field-observations that Nature's 

 secrets will finally be elucidated. There is no short-cut. 



(in) THE CORAL ISLANDS OF THE RED SEA 



The coral islands which stud the Red Sea, though 

 they lie right alongside our British- India route, have 

 never been explored by British naturalist. During a 

 whole century since the visit of Hemprich and Ehren- 

 berg in 1827 no zoologist whatever has set foot on 

 these islands, save only Heuglin in 1861 all respect to 

 his enterprise. Hence certain recent notes made 

 thereon by a young naval friend, Lieutenant H. Dale 

 Nichol, R.N., who spent two war-years patrolling the 

 Red Sea and its islands aboard H.M.S. Espiegle, are 

 certainly of sufficient interest to summarise here. 



Certain islands received special attention by Espiegle, 

 including those of the "Farisan group," an archipelago 

 which extends for miles along the Arabian coast, and of 

 which the Farisan Islands are themselves the largest. 

 Though entirely waterless, both these and many smaller 

 islands proved to be stocked with gazelles apparently a 

 diminutive or stunted race of the typical Arabian gazelle 

 (Gazella arabicd], reduced in size by starveling diet. It 

 seems, indeed, remarkable that any herbivorous animal 

 can support life at all upon such barren arid rocks. 

 Apparently they feed on seaweed. A doe weighed on 

 Farisan only scaled 10 Ib. about one-third of a normal 

 weight ; all, moreover, carried very short stumpy horns, 

 strongly recurved forward and rather resembling those of 

 a baby reedbuck (Bohor) than a gazelle. That, however, 

 may be either merely an index of immaturity, as already 

 pointed out at p. 336, or a proof that semi-starvation pre- 

 cludes the attainment of complete " maturity." The hoofs 

 of these gazelles were almost worn away by traversing the 

 sharp coral. Kamaran, the southernmost island (lying 



