Ill 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



III 



Marching on, we came to a small water-hole, and while 

 the men filled their water-bottles, I went forward alone 

 into a great opening between many hills. There I saw 

 about 400 yards away, what I took to be a small herd of 

 oryx beisa. I raised my rifle to my shoulder, and fired 

 into the midst of the herd ; one sprang into the air, and 

 then fell. Upon reaching it, I found I had shot a beau- 

 tifully horned female. The herd made off, I after it. 

 Mounting a slight rise, I saw them standing about 350 

 paces distant, all but one facing me. This one immedi- 

 ately fell to my Winchester. Upon examination, I found 

 the bullet had broken the animal's shoulder and gone 

 through its body diagonally, until checked by the thick 

 skin on the animal's further loin. The skin of the 

 oryx beisa is very thick; so thick, in fact, that it is 

 preferred by the Somali above all others for the pur- 

 pose of making shields. 



We rested here for three hours, while the men cut 

 up the meat and we had luncheon. After luncheon 

 Lieutenant von Hohnel climbed a hill to take bear- 

 ings, and I was sitting in a camp-chair, smoking a 

 pipe, when my men shouted, " Nyama " (game). I 

 called for my Winchester, and, just as I got it, a herd 

 of grantii ran past in single file, about 150 yards away. 

 Without leaving my chair, I took aim at a point three 

 feet in front of the shoulder of the leading animal, and 

 had the good fortune to bring it down, shooting it 

 through both hips. 



The scenery at this camping-place was grand. There 

 were but two openings between the high hills, and these 

 permitted a view, far away across the desert, of the south- 

 ern peaks of the General Matthews range, blue in the 



