II ON THE JAMBENI RANGE ■ 49 



suffering from a touch of fever, brought on by the pain and 

 consequent restless nights they caused me. On the way back 

 to camp that day I shot another impala in the curious striped 

 bush previously described. One of these bucks standing among 

 the red-barked mimosa stems was very difficult to make out, 

 so exactly did its colour match with these trees. The impalas 

 in this part of Africa seem to have much wider-spreading horns 

 than those of the south. They are nowhere anything like so 

 numerous as they used to be in the parts of South -Eastern 

 x'^frica I hunted in years ago. Along the Umbuluzi, lower 

 Komati, Crocodile and Sabi rivers they were formerly to be 

 met with in immense herds; but in Central Africa the herds are 

 always comparatively small and these much fewer and farther 

 between, though here they are very much freer from molesta- 

 tion. On the strength of the news that had been brought me 

 as to the direction the elephants had retreated in, I took a 

 long round next day through the low country in hopes of 

 cutting their spoor ; but the report proved to be false, so I had 

 my tramp for nothing except that I shot another impala for 

 the benefit of some natives who were with me. 



Though badly in want of a rest — both for the sake of my 

 feet and general health — as a Mthara native had come to 

 report elephants to be in another patch of forest, beyond the one 

 where I had killed mine, and slept in camp on purpose to take 

 me there, I made a very early start with him the next morning 

 to look for them. The place was very similar to the other, 

 though of less extent ; with, like it, a swamp in it. The 

 elephants were not there though ; but the spoor of the day 

 before showed our guide had not deceived us. We went a 

 long way farther in search of them, leaving the next district 

 (called Janjai) to our left, and got close to the foot-hills of 

 Kenia. We found many recent spoors and at last some of 

 the night before, but too late in the day to be worth following 

 at such a distance from camp, as it was in open bush and they 

 were therefore likely to lead us a long chase. However, I had 



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