XXIX 
ANIMALS OF THE BACK BLOCKS 
285 
the thick bush country up to Kitui ; the slopes of Elgon 
and the trans-Nzoia country, where again they consist 
mostly of cows ; the thick bush round the Tsavo river, 
where there are some good bulls existent; the Mumoni 
Hills, the Lorian swamp, both Game Reserves, 
though much more numerous in the northern, near 
and about Lake Rudolf, and in the thorn scrub of the 
neighbourhood, at certain seasons, between Mombasa 
and Malindi. 
The best shots are the brain shot, at a spot between 
the eye and ear-hole, and naturally varying and be¬ 
coming lower as the beast is more closely approached, 
and the heart shot, at a spot behind and beneath the 
shoulder, approximately where the lowest point of the 
ear would come if lain back and against the side. 
The heart comes very low down, and the shooter is 
unlikely to aim below it. On the whole most of the 
more experienced hunters prefer the latter if they 
have a choice. The heart is much the larger mark, 
being roughly about the size of a stable bucket, and 
there is also an excellent chance of missing the heart 
and piercing the lungs. A head shot, if not im¬ 
mediately fatal, does no harm whatever. Occasionally 
a leg shot or one at the backbone may be useful in 
disabling a wounded animal. 
The Bongo is one of those elusive forest animals 
which for so long baffled the skill and energy of our 
best hunters. Very large in bulk—being exceeded 
therein among antelopes only by the eland, and 
possibly by the kudu—and comparatively common, 
it was only in recent times that his presence and 
locality were definitely ascertained. Mr. F. J. 
Jackson, for instance, though for many years aware 
of its existence, spent long and arduous hunts with- 
