SPORT ON THE GUASO MARU 



late to start a march, Fuguet and I, each followed by several 

 blacks, started out in different directions in quest of game. 

 When about a mile distant from camp I spotted a mass of roan- 

 colored animals in the distance which, by the aid of the glasses, 

 I discovered to be a large herd of about forty oryx. They were 

 feeding away from us through a stretch of the orchard-like 

 country common to this portion of Africa. A number of old 

 bulls had been posted on the outskirts of the herd as sentinels, 

 and I commenced to stalk one of these, which was dozing on 

 guard in the midst of an open grass-covered plain. When 

 within a reasonable distance of the oryx I ran forward in a 

 crouching position, partially screened by the trunk of an acacia, 

 until I reached its shelter. Peering around this I saw the now 

 suspicious oryx gazing at me broadside three hundred yards 

 distant, and prepared to break into a gallop instantly. A few 

 feet to one side of where I was crouching grew a small, leafless 

 bush, and crawling to this I secured a steady sight by resting 

 the rifle in a fork, and fired at the shoulder of the distant oryx. 

 At the report the entire herd was instantly in motion. When 

 motionless or walking, oryx are very stately and handsome 

 animals, but when thoroughly alarmed these large antelopes 

 break into a clumsy, lumbering gallop, which detracts a great 

 deal from their appearance. The bull at which I had fired, 

 after galloping madly for about one hundred yards, stopped, 

 staggered in a circle several times, and then lay down in the 

 grass. On reaching the spot we found a fine specimen of an 

 old bull oryx {Oryx heisa) already dead from a wound through 

 the lungs. The two horns of this animal were practically the 

 same size, measuring thirty-four inches in length, six and a 

 quarter inches in circumference at the base, and nine inches 

 from point to point. The ears were badly torn, probably from 

 biting in fights with rival bulls. 



Dispatching a Swahili for assistance to carry the head and 

 meat of this antelope into camp, and covering the carcass with 



