rd it I half-expected that he would stop suddenly and send me
flying over his shoulders. But he never wavered. The excitement of the
chase was upon him and he took the leap like an antelope. There was a
moment of blinding smoke, a burning blast of air, and then we were
galloping madly on across the blackened dust where the fire had already
swept.

For two miles I galloped the giraffe, vainly endeavoring to swing him
around, but once a swamp retarded me and another time a low hill shut
the giraffe from view. When I passed the hill he had disappeared and
could not be found again. There was no deep regret at having lost him,
for I felt particularly grateful to him for having given me the most
exhilarating and the most joyous ride I had in Africa.

The large male giraffes often appear solid black at a distance, for the
yellow bands separating the splotches of black are so slender as to be
invisible at even a short distance. The females are much lighter and
usually look like the giraffes we see in the circuses at home.

Then there's the ubiquitous zebra, almost as numerous as the kongoni.
You see vast herds of zebra at many places along the railway, and
thereafter, as you roam about the level spots of East Africa, you are
always running into herds of them. At first, the sight of a herd of
zebras is a surprise, for you have been accustomed to seeing them in the
small numbers found in captivity. It is a source of passing wonder that
these rare animals should be roaming about the suburbs of towns in
hundred lots. You decide that it would be a shame to shoot a zebra and
determine not to join in this heartless slaughter.

Later on your sentiments will undergo a change. Everybody will tell you
that the zebra is a fearful pest and must be exterminated if
civilization and progress are to continue. The zebra is absolutely
useless and efforts to domesticate him have been without good results.
He tramps over the plains, breaks down fences, tears up the cultivated
fields, and really fulfills no mission in life save that of supplying
the lions with food. As long as the zebras stay the lions will be there,
but the settlers say that the lions are even preferable to the zebras.

Under the old game ordinance expiring December fifteenth, 1909, a
sportsman was allowed two zebras under his license; under the new one he
is allowed twenty! That reveals the attitude of East Africa toward the
jaunty little striped pony.

[Drawing: _Zebra, Wil