TO THE UASIN GISHU 
365 
^Ndorobo. They are as large as native bullocks, with hand¬ 
somely striped skins, and both sexes carry horns. On each 
of the three days we followed them all day long, and it 
was interesting to trace so much as we could of their habits. 
Their trails are deeply beaten, and converge toward the 
watercourses, which run between the steep, forest-clad 
spurs of the mountains. They do not graze, but browse, 
cropping the leaves, flowers, and twigs of various shrubs, 
and eating thistles; they are said to eat bark, but this our 
'Ndorobo denied. They are also said to be nocturnal, feed¬ 
ing at night, and lying up in the daytime; but this was 
certainly not the case with those we came across. Both of 
the herds, which we followed patiently and cautiously for 
hours without alarming them, were feeding as they moved 
slowly along. One herd lay down for a few hours at noon; 
the other kept feeding until mid-afternoon, when we alarmed 
it; and the animals then went straight up the mountain 
over the rimrock. It was cold rainy weather, and the dark 
of the moon, which may perhaps have had som.ething to 
do with the bongo being on the move and feeding during 
the day; but the ’Ndorobo said that they never fed at night 
—I of course know nothing about this personally. Leop¬ 
ards catch the young bongo and giant hog, but dare not 
meddle with those that are full-grown. The forest which 
they frequent is so dense, so well-nigh impenetrable, that 
half the time no man can follow their trails save by bend¬ 
ing and crawling, and cannot make out an object twenty 
yards ahead. It is extraordinary to see the places through 
which the bongo pass, and which are their chosen haunts. 
While Lord Delamere and I were hunting in vain Kermit 
was more fortunate. He was the guest of Barclay Cole, 
