450 THE GIANT ELAND [ch. xv 
the saddle-marked lechwe. Its hoofs are like those of 
the ordinary kobs and waterbucks, not in the least like 
those of the saddle-back; so that, although the does are 
coloured alike, there is no chance of mistaking any 
lechwe doe for any true kob doe. We found these kobs 
in much drier ground than the saddle-backs, and there¬ 
fore they were easier to get at. The one I shot was an 
old ram, accompanied by several ewes. We saw them 
from the boat, but they ran. Cuninghame and I, with 
Kongoni and Gouvimali, hunted for them in vain for a 
couple of hours. Then we met a savage, a very tall, 
lean Nuer. He was clad in a fawn skin, and carried 
two spears, one with a bright, sharp, broad-bladed head, 
the other narrow-headed with villainous barbs. His hair, 
much longer than that of a West Coast negro, was tied 
back. As we came toward him he stood on one leg, 
with the other foot resting against it, and, raising his 
hand, with fingers extended, he motioned to us with 
what in civilized regions would be regarded as a gesture 
bidding us halt. But he meant it as a friendly greeting, 
and solemnly shook hands with all four of us, including 
the gun-bearers. By signs we made him understand 
that we were after game ; so was he ; and he led us to 
the little herd of kob. Kongoni, as usual, saw them 
before anyone else. From an ant-hill I could make out 
the buck’s horns and his white ears, which he was con¬ 
tinually flapping at the biting flies that worried him ; 
when he lowered his head I could see nothing. Finally, 
he looked fixedly at us ; he was a hundred and fifty 
yards off, and I had to shoot standing on the peak of 
the ant-heap, and aim through the grass, guessing where 
his hidden body might be ; and I missed him. At the 
shot the does went off to the left, but he ran to the 
right, once or twice leaping high ; and when he halted, 
