APPENDICES 407 



beast are also specially fond of the fruit of the " lulu tree " 

 (proper name unknown). That season was now over (March) 

 and only a few rotting specimens (not unlike horse-chestnuts) 

 lay scattered on the ground. But beneath each tree the trampled 

 grass, spoor, and sign of elands clearly indicated how lovingly 

 they had lingered at such spots during the period of ripe fruit. 

 The trail of the eland-herds owing to this profusion of broken 

 branches (but not to actual spoor, which is bad to pick up in 

 the dry season) was as easy to follow as that of a herd of 

 elephants ; though on the hard iron-stone outcrops it was 

 difficult to advance in silence. In actual shape the foot-prints 

 of eland closely resemble those of buffalo. 



One herd we followed during four days, on several occasions 

 getting in close enough to realise what magnificent animals we 

 had before us, and twice I got a glimpse of the champion bull 

 a beast such as never in my life before had I set eyes on. 

 Naturally I had come prepared for something great ; but the 

 first actual view through prism binoculars fairly carried me off 

 my feet. The giant eland, proportionately speaking, is not so 

 heavily built as the commoner species, nor is the dewlap so 

 extravagant; but his great stature \7\ to 18 hands the 

 massive wide-spread horns, the huge bulk and shaggy mane, 

 with the deep black neck offset by its contrasted margin of 

 white all these features combine to present a picture of wild 

 animal-life such as I had never dreamed to see. 



A characteristic of the eland family is that the master-bull 

 of a herd contrary to the custom amongst most African 

 antelopes permits the presence of two or three (or more) 

 young bulls running with the herd. These proved a source 

 of recurrent annoyance since my trackers insistently urged me 

 to shoot one of them thus incidentally providing them with 

 meat, and also terminating their trials in this terrible waterless 

 land. But my motto (and inspiration) was aut gigas aut nullus, 

 and we held on. These younger bulls, nevertheless and the 

 cows alike presented lovely studies when watched at close 

 quarters. In bright sleek coats and jet-black muzzles glistening 

 with moisture, and with full liquid eyes they seemed, when 

 reaching up into the foliage above, to be built on lines to the 

 full as graceful as those of the lesser antelopes and gazelles. 

 We sometimes had to wait an hour while these laggards lingered 



