Northern Nigeria 



too late. I heard a clatter below me, and they 

 were past out of sight ; another second, and I had 

 jumped down the six-foot bank into two feet of 

 water. The noise I made running up saved the 

 situation. They tried to bolt up the opposite 

 bank; it was very steep, but there was one 

 possible place for which they had to go in single 

 file. As I arrived in the water I heard one crash- 

 ing away on top of the far bank ; another I saw 

 for a flash collect himself on the top and vanish ; 

 the third had his fore legs on top, and with a 

 scramble was up as I fired both barrels without 

 taking any aim, to speak of. I felt certain I had 

 missed, but ran on to climb out by their path and 

 pursue. I was almost under where they had been 

 when number three appeared for a second stagger- 

 ing on the brink of the bank, which gave way 

 with him, and he fell with a crash almost at my 

 feet, at the last gasp. It had all happened so 

 quickly that I didn't know till then what I had 

 fired at. Imagine, then, my joy to find a great roan 

 antelope bull was my victim. A glorious sight 

 he was, with long gnarled horns and his shaggy 

 coat, truly worthy to rank with the koodoo, oryx, 

 sable and eland as the greatest trophy in Africa. 

 By oryx I mean oryx beisa, or gemsbok, as, 

 strictly speaking, the roan is an oryx himself. 

 Thus was one of the chief objects of the expedi- 

 tion to Nigeria achieved in my first shoot. I 



191 



