TWO DIANAS IN SOMALILAND 49 
I bagged a very fine Speke’s Gazelle here, but am 
ashamed to say it was a doe. It is very hard some- 
times to differentiate between the sexes in this species. 
I was very much looking forward to the opportunity 
of bagging an oryx, I admire the horns of this antelope 
so greatly, though I suppose they are not really to 
be compared in the same breath with those of the 
koodoo. The oryx is very powerfully made, about 
the size of a pony, and the horns are long and taper- 
ing. They remind me of a vast pair of screws, 
the “ thread ” starting from the base and winding 
round to a few inches off the top when the horn is 
plain. They are the greatest fighters of all the genus 
buck, and the bulls are provided by nature, who 
orders all things well, with almost impenetrable 
protective horn-proof shields of immensely thick 
skin which covers the withers. These are much 
valued by the Somalis for many purposes, notably 
for the shields carried by them when in full dress. 
Set up as trophies they take a high polish and come 
up like tortoise-shell. One or two of mine I had 
mounted as trays, with protective glass, others as 
tables. All were exceedingly effective. 
By this time we had got to and set out upon, not 
without some qualms, the waterless Haud, starting 
for the first march at cock-crow. In some parts it 
attains a width of over two hundred miles across. It 
all depends on where you strike it. We did the cross- 
ing in ten marches, taking five days over it. All that 
time we had to rely solely on the supply of water 
we carried with us, which was an anxious piece of 
D 
