VI 
PEEFACE. 
importance of accurate statements of the locality and the conditions in which 
each animal was found, and thus to guard against the unfortunate omissions of 
the French Naturalists in this respect, who were generally content to record the 
distribution solely as from ‘ Egypt,’ which in those days was considered sufficient. 
But, with this large idea before the Author, and whilst his mind was still 
vigorously engaged with all the details of his self-imposed task, a sudden and brief 
illness closed his earnest and useful career, on the 15th of August, 1900. 
Fortunately for the branch of Science to which the Author had devoted his 
attention, the general scope of the present volume had been clearly indicated. 
Therefore it seemed a possible, even an imperative, duty to prepare for publication the 
results of the Author’s researches during the past eight years; for the collection of 
Mammals had begun as early as that of the Beptiles, and the question of priority in 
the publication hung in the balance, until the former was eventually delayed by the 
political events which disturbed the country and which did not admit of any other 
than the lesser forms of Mammals being procured, and those were almost exclusively 
from Lower Egypt. 
When the country was settling down on the conclusion of the brilliant campaign 
which ended in the capture of Khartum by Lord Kitchener, and the complete 
extinction of Mahdism, a little later, by Major-General Sir F. R. Wingate, an appeal 
was made to Egyptian officials wLo were supposed to have zoological tastes, asking 
for assistance to obtain desiderata in Mammalian specimens. A hearty response 
came from several officials of the new regime, notably from Colonel T. E. Hickman, 
then Governor of Dongola; but herein came disappointment, as one officer after 
another Avas called away for service in South Africa. This will account for some of 
the regrettable blanks in this work, even after every possible effort to obtain 
specimens from Egyptian territory in time to be dealt with in these pages. 
On the other hand, a very fine collection of animals was the outcome of a personal 
visit of Dr. Anderson to Suakin ; so successful—through the generous aid of the 
then Governor, Colonel, now Lieut,-General Sir Archibald, Hunter—that specimens 
