116 REPORT OF MR. W. JESSE. [Feb. 11, 
Anseba. Here I had a good week, securing many specimens I had 
hitherto failed to obtain. On the 14th of July we went out in pur- 
suit of a Rhinoceros we had heard of the day before, and which Mr. 
Blanford and I had the good fortune to shoot. The next morning 
I went out with my attendants and posse comitatus of natives, to 
bring in the skeleton, and on arriving at the place I witnessed a 
scene precisely similar to that described by Sir Samuel Baker as 
taking place over the carcass of a Hippopotamus :—women, old and 
young, the former hideous, scratching, screaming, and fighting over 
the entrails, pulling furiously at these or at one another’s hair, it 
mattered not which so that possession of the prey was secured ; the 
men jabbering like jackals, fighting with sticks and knives, one and 
all knee-deep in filth and blood ; so that between them, in about four 
hours, the skeleton was utterly bared of meat and skin, leaving not 
an atom for the Vultures. 
On the 18th we had the first earnest of the rainy season, which 
was ushered in by a terrific storm of rain and hail, some of the hail- 
stones being as large as small walnuts. The Anseba, an affluent of 
the Barca, from a dry bed with an occasional waterhole became a 
splendid river, varying from 50 to 100 yards in width, and flowing 
between banks of dense jungle and fine forest trees. The spoor of 
Elephants, Black Rhinoceros, and Lions were plentiful along the 
banks, so much so as to give the appearance of a place frequented by 
giant rabbits. The valley here varied from 15 to 20 miles in width, 
the jungle and forest limiting itself to about a couple of miles on 
each side. The remainder of the ground was stony and barren, 
rising gradually towards the hills, and intersected by numerous 
nullahs running into the Anseba. Here we came in for a glimpse, 
on two occasions, of another species of Antelope, slightly larger 
than the “ Beni-e-Israel.’’ Unfortunately I had but a momentary 
view of it, and never succeeded in obtaining a specimen. On the 
19th we left Bejook for Waliko, seeing on the road plenty of spoor 
of Elephants and Rhinoceros ; from the dung of the latter I collected 
a few Coleoptera. While at Waliko, finding a great scarcity of 
birds, I followed up more closely the tracks of the Rhinoceros, pass- 
ing through very dense jungle that is never penetrated by sun or 
air, by means of their paths, which are from 2 to 3 feet broad, 
and formed like galleries in a mine, about four feet high—and so 
entering their dens, which are very curious, having the appearance 
of immense arbours; they vary in size from 13 to 20 feet square, 
and have in some cases a smaller retreat adjoining. 
On the 24th, Mr. Blanford and I went out birding, and came 
upon fresh tracks of two Lions; they had followed Elephants’ spoor 
for over two miles. The herd consisted of three old ones and a 
young one. The next day we left for Maraguay, where Capt. 
Mokeler shot a doe Koodoo, and I procured a few birds, one species 
of “Indicator.” Mr. Blantord obtained a new Kingfisher, of which 
I also secured a specimen the next day. I also shot a pair of fine 
Ground-Hornbills (Bucorax abyssinicus), which I prepared as ske- 
letons. The rains having set in, and the term of our excursion 
