26 
ON SAFARI 
in all directions by the curious double spoor of hippo¬ 
potami—regular roads, by which these huge amphibians 
came out to graze at night, and along which we could 
creep unseen. This impala was lord of a harem of no less 
than thirty-two does, and I thought him the best in our 
valley ; but my brother later on got a solitary ram that 
beat him by half-an-inch. 
These two antelopes, the impala and Grant’s gazelle, 
carry as fine trophies as any game on earth, having 
regard to their proportionate size. Both species average 
from 10 to 12 stones in weight—say the size of a red 
deer hind—yet their horns, massive and beautiful in 
sweeping curves, run to 26 and 28 ins. in length; 
“ record ” specimens reaching nearly 80 ins. 
That afternoon, during the midday rest in camp, we 
were visited by a deputation of Masai. These stalwart 
savages—absolutely naked save for some ornaments 
suspended from their ears (I took these things to be 
ornaments)—each carried a murderous double-bladed 
spear, long enough to impale three enemies at once. 
(The blades of some I brought home exceed 3 ft. in 
length.) After much palaver, we understood our friends’ 
message to be as follows:—That morning a lion had 
attacked their herds. They had driven him off, and he 
had taken shelter in some bush, where they had left men 
to watch till we could arrive to shoot the depredator. 
We set off at once, and on reaching the place (an hour’s 
walk) found the country quite open, with some thin 
bush. There was much running hither and thither, and 
much gesticulation by crowds of excited Masai. This 
at length resolved itself into general concentration upon 
one patch of low brushwood barely an acre in extent. 
Towards this scores of spears now eagerly pointed, but 
both the Masai and our own “ boys ” hung severely 
back. Consequently W-and I reached the bush 
alone, each attended only by his gun-bearer. 
For a moment, I must admit, I hesitated to walk 
into that bush with a live lion inside it; but, as our 
whole line stood halted dead to windward, and within 
