Pleasant it was also to walk out from Juja in almost any

direction. The compound, and the buildings and trees within it,
soon dwindled in the distances of the great flat plain. Herds of

game were always in sight, grazing, lying down, staring in our
direction. The animals were incredibly numerous. Some days they

were fairly tame, and others exceedingly wild, without any rhyme
or reason. This shyness or the reverse seemed not to be

individual to one herd; but to be practically universal. On a
"wild day" everything was wild from the Lone Tree to Long Juju.

It would be manifestlyabsurd to guess at the reason. Possibly
the cause might be atmospheric or electrical; possibly days of

nervousness might follow nights of unusual activity by the lions;
one could invent a dozen possibilities. Perhaps the kongonis

decided it.
At Juja we got to know the kongonis even better than we had

before. They are comical, quizzical beasts, with long-nosed
humorous faces, a singularly awkwardconstruction, a shambling

gait; but with altruistic dispositions and an ability to get over
the ground at an extraordinary speed. Every move is a joke; their

expression is always one of grieved but humorous astonishment.
They quirk their heads sidewise or down and stare at an intruder

with the most comical air of skeptical wonder. "Well, look who's
here!" says the expression.

"Pooh!" says the kongoni himself, after a good look, "pooh!
pooh!" with the most insulting inflection.

He is very numerous and very alert. One or more of a grazing herd
are always perched as sentinels atop ant hills or similar small

elevations. On the sIightest intimation of danger they give the
alarm, whereupon the herd makes off at once, gathering in all

other miscellaneous game that may be in the vicinity. They will
go out of their way to do this, as every African hunter knows. It

immensely complicates matters; for the sportsman must not only
stalk his quarry, but he must stalk each and every kongoni as

well. Once, in another part of the country, C. and I saw a
kongoni leave a band of its own species far down to our right,

gallop toward us and across our front, pick up a herd of zebra we
were trying to approach and make off with them to safety. We

cursed that kongoni, but we admired him, for he deliberately" target="_blank" title="ad.故意地；慎重地">deliberately ran
out of safety into danger for the purpose of warning those zebra.

So seriously do they take their job as policemen of the plains
that it is very common for a lazy single animal of another

species to graze in a herd of kongonis simply for the sake of
protection. Wildebeeste are much given to this.

The kongoni progresses by a series of long high bounds. While in
midair he half tucks up his feet, which gives him the appearance

of an automatic toy. This gait looks deliberate, but is really
quite fast, as the mounted sportsman discovers when he enters

upon a vain pursuit. If the horse is an especially good one, so
that the kongoni feels himself a trifle closely pressed, the

latter stops bouncing and runs. Then he simply fades away into
the distance.

These beasts are also given to chasing each other all over the
landscape. When a gentleman kongoni conceives a dislike for

another gentleman kongoni, he makes no concealment of his
emotions, but marches up and prods him in the ribs. The ensuing

battle is usually fought out very stubbornly with much feinting,
parrying, clashing of the lyre-shaped horns; and a good deal of

crafty circling for a favourable opening. As far as I was ever
able to see not much real damage is inflicted; though I could

well imagine that only skilful fence prevented unpleasant
punctures in soft spots. After a time one or the other feels

himself weakening. He dashes strongly in, wheels while his
antagonist is braced, and makes off. The enemy pursues. Then,

apparently, the chase is on for the rest of the day. The victor
is not content merely to drive his rival out of the country; he

wants to catch him. On that object he is very intent; about as
intent as the other fellow is of getting away. I have seen two

such beasts almost run over a dozen men who were making no effort
to keep out of sight. Long after honour is satisfied, indeed, as

it seems to me, long after the dictates of common decency would
call a halt that persistent and single-minded pursuer bounds

solemnly and conscientiously along in the wake of his disgusted
rival.

These and the zebra and wildebeeste were at Juja the most
conspicuous game animals. If they could not for the moment be

seen from the veranda of the house itself, a short walk to the
gate was sufficient to reveal many hundreds. Among them fed herds

of the smaller Thompson's gazelle, or "Tommies." So small were
they that only their heads could be seen above the tall grass as

they ran.
To me there was never-ending fascination in walking out over

those sloppy plains in search of adventure, and in the pleasure
of watching the beasts. Scarcely less fascinationhaunted a

stroll down the river canyons or along the tops of the bluffs
above them. Here the country was broken into rocky escarpments in

which were caves; was clothed with low and scattered brush; or
was wooded in the bottom lands. Naturally an entirely different

set of animals dwelt here; and in addition one was often treated
to the romance of surprise. Herds of impalla haunted these edges;

graceful creatures, trim and pretty with wide horns and beautiful
glowing red coats. Sometimes they would venture out on the open

plains, in a very compact band, ready to break back for cover at
the slightest alarm; but generally fed inside the fringe of

bushes. Once from the bluff above I saw a beautiful herd of over
a hundred pacing decorously along the river bottom below me,

single file, the oldest buck at the head, and the miscellaneous
small buck bringing up the rear after the does. I shouted at

them. Immediately the solemnprocession broke. They began to
leap, springing straight up into the air as though from a

released spring, or diving forward and upward in long graceful
bounds like dolphins at sea. These leaps were incredible. Several

even jumped quite over the backs of others; and all without a
semblance of effort.

Along the fringe of the river, too, dwelt the lordly waterbuck,
magnificent and proud as the stags of Landseer; and the tiny

steinbuck and duiker, no bigger than jack-rabbits, but perfect
little deer for all that. The incrediblyplebeian wart-hog rooted

about; and down in the bottom lands were leopards. I knocked one
off a rock one day. In the river itself dwelt hippopotamuses and

crocodiles. One of the latter dragged under a yearling calf just
below the house itself, and while we were there. Besides these

were of course such affairs as hyenas and jackals, and great
numbers of small game: hares, ducks, three kinds of grouse,

guinea fowl, pigeons, quail, and jack snipe, not to speak of a
variety of plover.

In the drier extents of dry grass atop the bluffs the dance birds
were especially numerous; each with his dance ring nicely trodden

out, each leaping and falling rhythmically for hours at a time.
Toward sunset great flights of sand grouse swarmed across the

yellowing sky from some distant feeding ground.
Near Juja I had one of the three experiences that especially

impressed on my mind the abundance of African big game. I had
stalked and wounded a wildebeeste across the N'derogo River, and

had followed him a mile or so afoot, hoping to be able to put in
a finishing shot. As sometimes happens the animal rather gained

strength as time went on; so I signalled for my horse, mounted,
and started out to run him down. After a quarter mile we began to

pick up the game herds. Those directly in our course ran straight
away; other herds on either side, seeing them running, came

across in a slant to join them. Inside of a half mile I was
driving before me literally thousands of head of game of several

varieties. The dust rose in a choking cloud that fairly obscured
the landscape, and the drumming of the hooves was like the

stampeding of cattle. It was a wonderful sight.
On the plains of Juja, also, I had my one real African Adventure,