APPENDICES 
407 
beast—are also specially fond of the fruit of the “ lulu tree ” 
(proper name unknown). That season was now over (March) 
and only a few rotting specimens (not unlike horse-chestnuts) 
lay scattered on the ground. But beneath each tree the trampled 
grass, spoor, and sign of elands clearly indicated how lovingly 
they had lingered at such spots during the period of ripe fruit. 
The trail of the eland-herds—owing to this profusion of broken 
branches (but not to actual spoor , which is bad to pick up in 
the dry season)—was as easy to follow as that of a herd of 
elephants; though on the hard iron-stone outcrops it was 
difficult to advance in silence. In actual shape the foot-prints 
of eland closely resemble those of buffalo. 
One herd we followed during four days, on several occasions 
getting in close enough to realise what magnificent animals we 
had before us, and twice I got a glimpse of the champion bull 
—a beast such as never in my life before had I set eyes on. 
Naturally I had come prepared for something great; but the 
first actual view through prism binoculars fairly carried me off 
my feet. The giant eland, proportionately speaking, is not so 
heavily built as the commoner species, nor is the dewlap so 
extravagant; but his great stature—17J to 18 hands—the 
massive wide-spread horns, the huge bulk and shaggy mane, 
with the deep black neck offset by its contrasted margin of 
white-—all these features combine to present a picture of wild 
animal-life' such as I had never dreamed to see. 
A characteristic of the eland family is that the master-bull 
of a herd — contrary to the custom amongst most African 
antelopes—permits the presence of two or three (or more) 
young bulls running with the herd. These proved a source 
of recurrent annoyance since my trackers insistently urged me 
to shoot one of them—thus incidentally providing them with 
meat, and also terminating their trials in this terrible waterless 
land. But my motto (and inspiration) was autgigas aut nullus , 
arid we held on. These younger bulls, nevertheless—and the 
cows alike—presented lovely studies when watched at close 
quarters. In bright sleek coats and jet-black muzzles glistening 
with moisture, and with full liquid eyes they seemed, when 
reaching up into the foliage above, to be built on lines to the 
full as graceful as those of the lesser antelopes and gazelles. 
We sometimes had to wait an hour while these laggards lingered 
