288 
A COLONY IN THE MAKING 
CHAP. 
bowman stood, passing within two yards of him ! The 
British East African bongo carries horns in both sexes, 
the male, of course, having much the more massive and 
handsome. Any bongo may be shot, but over 30 inches 
would be a nice bull. Although not often seen, bongo 
undoubtedly do cross open glades ; I have seen their 
fresh tracks over an opening for at least a mile. 
Natives often obtain specimens with packs of dogs, 
which follow the game, bay it, and hold it up till 
despatched with spears and arrows. European dogs, 
however, tend to become awed and demoralised by the 
huge size, silence, and loneliness of the forest, and after 
the first day or so will not hunt. I am at a loss to under¬ 
stand why, for so long, the Game Department have 
winked at the sale by natives of skins and horns 
belonging to this magnificent and harmless antelope. 
He is found only in the thickest forest and is reported 
from several localities. I have only myself seen his 
spoor or heard definite report of his capture from the 
Mau forest, the Aberdares, and the Kenia forest. 
The Greater Kudu , unluckily for himself, is provided 
by nature with the finest horns of any known antelope ; 
luckily, she has also provided him with a due sense of 
their value, and no beast takes greater care of himself. 
Thus, although the species is fairly widely distributed, 
and probably much more common than is generally 
supposed, very few specimens are killed annually. 
Unfortunately, Kudu of both species seem very liable 
to disease ; during the last ten years there have been 
at least two outbreaks of gastro-enteritis or some 
similar disease, which have severely affected all the 
known herds in the Protectorate. From his size, stately 
bearing, and the magnificence of his horns, one imagines 
the Kudu as lording it among glades and park-like 
