202 Great and Small Game of Africa 



does not walk straight for them, but pretends to walk past, gradually 

 sidling in nearer as he proceeds. 



On my way down country a short time back, September 1898, I crossed 

 over the Athi plains between Kikuyu and the river, which for the last 

 three years has been a " Reserve " in which shooting is strictly prohibited, 

 excepting lions and other carnivora. As I walked along, wildebeest, Gazella 

 grant/, and thomsoni were on all sides of me, and were so close and confiding 

 that they reminded me of Kilimanjaro in the palmy days of 1887. Three 

 ostriches even stood and looked at me within 300 yards, and every 

 creature seemed to know that it was perfectly safe. Directly I crossed the 

 river, however, where shooting is allowed, and where every one going up 

 and down the road appeared to have done his best to make up for lost 

 time — the empty cartridge-cases alone proved this — all the game, even the 

 confiding little G. thomsoni, was so wild that I could not get within range 

 of anything excepting a large bustard, which I missed. As I take it for 

 granted that every sportsman would wish to add one or two of these 

 absurdly grotesque-looking gnu heads to his collection of trophies, in the 

 event of his not having the good luck to find them in open bush country, 

 I would strongly recommend him to try a drive. In open bush country 

 he should have little difficulty in circumventing them by a fair stalk. 

 But on really open plains he may find them quite unapproachable, and, 

 then, rather than run the risk of merely wounding the game by long 

 shots (distances being very difficult to judge and modern bullets being 

 greatly affected by the strong winds usually prevailing), a drive is 

 preferable. With a few extra men besides his gun-bearers, it is not a 

 difficult thing to manage, as there are always enough ant-heaps scattered 

 about to afford sufficient covert, and the gunner only has two things to 

 remember ; the one is always to have the game driven down or across 

 the wind, the former for choice, the other that he and his gun-bearers 

 must take up their position without being seen. Owing to the usually 



