290 
ON SAFARI 
marked with black points, shading away during life into 
glossy purple reflections like the bloom on a ripe grape, 
A tsesseby bull happened to be the first big beast that 
fell to my rifle in Africa, and that lovely coloration 
remains fixed in my memory. 
Roan Antelope. —Hippotragus equinus. 
This has always been considered a rare animal in 
East Africa ; yet we might, with luck, have met with it 
at various points in our travels—say on the Athi, or in 
the country between Nakuru and Baringo—but such 
good fortune did not befall. Small herds are known in 
the Lumbwa Valley, towards Muhoroni and Kibigori; 
while southwards therefrom, the roan is said to be fairly 
numerous on the Guaso Nyero and thence towards the 
lake. 
My specimens are from South Africa. 
The Marquis de la Scala writes me : “We shot three 
roan on the Thyka River, left bank—the first at the 
back of Donyo Sabuk. That herd, however, is very 
poor, and is now preserved. Other parties got roan, 
quite good heads for the country (28 ins. and 27 ins.) 
near Muhoroni.” 
Sable Antelope. —Hippotragus niger. 
Found only in the coastal region, particularly on 
the Shimba Hills, a few stations up the line from Mom¬ 
basa ; and in no great numbers—two or three small 
herds and poor in head, 36 ins. being the best. 
Having much better specimens from the Transvaal, we 
did not try for sable in East Africa. My two best 
sable bulls, shot in the Lebombo bush-veld, measured 
44^- and 42 ins. respectively ; and I had a female of 
32 \ ins. These three, together with many other fine 
trophies, the results of three months’ hunting, I lost 
through the outbreak of war in the Transvaal—October 
1899. My two companions, however, suffered infinitely 
