The Topi 173 



down, and chasing each other in and out among the herd. Once or twice 

 I had the opportunity of witnessing a fight between two bulls. Between 

 the rounds they stand a little apart, pretending, as it were, to take no notice 

 of each other ; then suddenly, as if instinctively impelled by some simul- 

 taneous impulse, they rush together, going down on their knees as their 

 heads clash. At night the topi used to come quite close up to my camp, 

 and I have seen their footprints in the morning within fifty yards of my 

 hut, and often heard them grunting and sneezing in the night." 



The flesh of the topi is excellent, being about the best meat furnished 

 by any antelope found in this part of Africa, just as that of its relative the 

 bastard hartebeest or sassaby is esteemed for its superiority in that respect 

 by the natives of South Africa. It seems, moreover, to be generally in 

 good condition, for all that I shot were very fat. 



This antelope seems to be among the species which are purely grazers, 

 living, so far as I was able to observe, on grass and similar herbage, to the 

 exclusion of leaves, etc. It affects the open plains near Lake Rudolph, 

 but also wanders through the more open parts of the bush ; and in 

 Sotike I found it frequenting swampy glades on the borders of the forest. 

 In Reshiat, at all events, it is not ordinarily difficult to get within range 

 of. I could generally shoot one or two whenever I wanted, and on one 

 occasion I killed two with one bullet. 



As in the case of all gregarious animals, the strongest males drive out 

 their weaker brethren from among the herds of cows ; and these vanquished 

 bulls congregate in separate herds, or sometimes a sullen old bachelor is 

 found alone or associating with a herd of Grant's gazelles. 



The El Gume natives trap them with an ingenious snare, which I have 

 described as follows in the book above quoted from. " The snare is made 

 from twisted strips of hide, laid up exactly like the ' neck-strop ' used to 

 yoke bullocks in South Africa, with a running noose at each end. A 

 contrivance like a little wheel without a nave, with an inordinate number 



