106 THE ELAND— THE SABLE ANTELOPE 



harmless, and amiable beasts, and from their 

 deliverance all over Africa from the dispropor- 

 tionate perils and dangers of their present daily 

 existence. 



There are few of us doubtless who have shot 

 through East and South Central Africa during 

 the last twenty years who cannot look back 

 upon a certain number of elands which from time 

 to time have fallen as prizes to our rifles. So 

 far as I am concerned, I can recollect, during 

 the period mentioned, having been responsible 

 for the deaths of five or six of these animals, 

 and their horns are still in my possession or in 

 that of friends upon whom I have bestowed 

 them ; but I must confess that whilst the con- 

 templation of other trophies taken from species 

 possibly as harmless awakens in me no sense of 

 self-reproach, the noble eland heads, which lend 

 dignity to their surroundings, not seldom awaken, 

 as I pass them by, an uneasy feeling almost of 

 regret that I should have lessened, even by so 

 infinitesimal a number, so splendid and useful a 

 detail of Africa's majestic fauna. 



In the open forest, and at times on the 

 lower stony foothills of the more elevated 

 regions, the Sable Antelope may be found in 

 small groups of five or six, and in herds of 

 thirty or more. Occasionally in the summer 

 season single animals are met with, but, 

 taken as a general rule, sable are extremely 

 gregarious. In Luabo, along the southern fringe 

 of the Shupanga Forest, eastward of the Mlanje 

 Mountains, and in Lugella, considerable numbers 



