1894.] GAME- ANIMALS OF SOMALILAND. 317 



The first important collections of the Waterbuck were made by 

 Colonel Paget and myself on two independent but simultaneous 

 expeditions to the Webbe last spring. 



1 found these Antelopes very plentiful all along both banks of 

 the river, from Ime down to Burka in the Aulihan tribe, which 

 was as far as I followed the stream. 



They lie up in the dense forest which clothes both banks of the 

 river for some 200 yards from the water's edge ; and they go out 

 to feed in the open grass-flats outside the forest. 



They go in small herds up to about fifteen individuals, though 

 most of the herds I saw consisted of only four or five, with one 

 old buck. 



The habits of the Somali Waterbuck are similar to those of the 

 same species all over Africa. They feed chiefly on grass, delight 

 in a mud-bath, and take to the water readily ; a wounded buck I 

 was following in thick forest tried to escape by swimming the 

 Webbe, some 90 yards across, and we shot him as he galloped 

 along the further bank. The Waterbucks on the Webbe vary 

 much in colour, from brownish grey to nearly black. 



The white lunate marking over the tail is always present ; some 

 heads have the forehead bright rufous brown, and others are 

 nearly black in this part. The flesh is eaten by the Negroes, 

 but not by Somalis. 



The horns obtained on the Webbe are small compared to 

 Waterbuck horns in other countries ; out of some 15 heads 

 collected by me at different times, none reached 25 inches. The 

 females are hornless. 



Bttshbuck (Tragelaphus decula). Native name " Dol." 



The Bushbuck is common in the dense forest on the Webbe 

 banks ; and it is the most wary and difficult to shoot of all the 

 game-animals I have ever encountered. I never heard of its exist- 

 ence till my second expedition to the Webbe last autumn. 



At Karanle I bought several skins and horns of " Dol " from the 

 natives, which had been obtained by means of disguised pits, with 

 a stake in the bottom of each. The Webbe pits are made by the 

 Adone, and are about eight feet deep and five in diameter at the 

 top. They are dug in the densest jungle in the paths frequented 

 by the " Dol " when going to and returning from the water. 

 Some of these paths are long tunnels 3 feet high, bored through 

 the masses of vegetation for 50 yards or more. Sometimes I 

 could only get to the river by creeping on all-fours through these 

 tunnels ; this is exciting work when it is considered that many 

 kinds of game use them. 



On my arrival at Karanle I sent skilled Negroes to repair all the 

 pits within a mile or two of my camp, in the hope of getting 

 a specimen. 



During a month on the Webbe banks I shot only one young 

 buck with my own rifle ; but I organized three or four drives, in 

 one of which my men shot a buck with their Sniders. 



