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Show 186 l t . - c o l . c. d e lm £ - r a d c l t f f e ox t h e x a t u r a l [June 6, impossible for domestic cattle and horses to live in the same part of the country. I myself lost an Arab horse I had had for six years in Africa and was very fond of. He was bitten by tsetse-fly in Bukanga. Eland were met with at two points in Bukanga-near the Nyakafunzo swamp, and in the districts known as Mpororo and Rushenyi. In Bukanga there were herds amounting to, perhaps, 200 animals, and the uninhabited country surrounding the Nyakafunzo swamp seemed admirably suited to their needs. They were considerably preyed upon, unfortunately, by natives, who organised hunting-parties into this district both from the British and the German side. Still more unfortunately, the natives are sometimes armed with rifles. The result could be seen in many wounded animals observed from time to time, and in dead bodies found with bullets in them. Lions also take toll of the elands, but the natural decrease due to this cause is nothing compared to the damage inflicted by natives with firearms. Further west a herd of considerably over 300 elands was seen, and this, probably, is only an outlier of still greater herds in the open country further south. It seems, therefore, that this country is abundantly supplied at present with representatives of this magnificent antelope, which, I believe, might be made of great economic value. The meat is equal to the best English beef, and a bull eland weighs about 17 cwt. Zebras occurred coincidentally with the Eland in Bukanga, and they number, perhaps, 400 individuals. In Iiushenyi another very large herd of zebras was seen ; and it may be remarked that in the Rushenyi herd a single zebra was seen almost entirely pure white in colour, a few stripes only appeared on the neck and hind-quarters. Another small herd of zebras, amounting, perhaps, to 150 individuals, was seen in the plains in southern Buampara, on the left bank of the Kagera, just north of the point where the river turns from the south to east. Roan Antelope were encountered, a few at a time, in Bukanga, in the narrow valley of the Kagera, and in south-west Ruampara north of the bend of the Kagera just referred to. They were occasionally met with in Rushenyi and Mpororo, and appeared more numerous in Ivaragwe, where for some reason there appeared to be no Eland, no Zebras, and no Damaliscus. These last were the common hartebeeste throughout the area west of tlie lake. In Bukanga, Damaliscus were very numerous. The number in this part may be estimated at 1000 individuals. No other variety of hartebeeste made its appearance: 200 or 300 individuals were found with the herd of zebras in south-western Ruampara, and in Rushenyi and Mpororo the Damaliscus hartebeestes are very numerous. The Nile Valley variety of Water-buck (Kobus defassa) is common in Bukanga, and may be met with in herds up to a dozen or fifteen individuals. They also appear fairly plentiful throughout, the valley of the Kagera and in western Ruampara, but |
