FATAL ENCOUNTER WITH AN ELEPHANT. 249 



which this occurred, the very thought of an encounter in 

 it with such a foe is appaUing. As the thorns are placed 

 in pairs on opposite sides of the branches, and these turn 

 round on being pressed against, one pair brings the other 

 exactly into the position in which it must pierce the 

 intruder. They cut like knives. Horses dread this bush 

 extremely ; indeed, most of them refuse to face its thorns.* 

 Occasionally, however, the elephant-hunter falls a 

 victim to his daring. A young and successful ivory- 

 hunter, named Thackwray, after numberless hair-breadth 

 escapes, at length lost his life in the pursuit. On one 

 occasion, a herd pursued him to the edge of a frightful 

 precipice, where his only chance of safety consisted in 

 dropping down to a ledge of rock at some distance below. 

 Scarcely was he down before one of the elephants was 

 seen above, endeavouring to reach him with its trunk. 

 The hunter could easily have shot the brute while thus 

 engaged, but was deterred by the fear of the huge car- 

 case falling down on him, which would have been certain 

 destruction. He escaped this danger, but soon afterwards, 

 almost at the very same spot, he met the fatal rencontre. 

 With one attendant Hottentot, Thackwray had engaged a 

 herd of elephants, one of which he had wounded. The 

 Hottentot, seeing it fall, supposed that it was dead, and 

 approached it, when the animal rose and charged furiously. 

 The lad threw himself upon the ground, and the infuriated 

 beast passed without noticing him, tearing up the trees 

 and scattering them in its blind rage ; but, rushing into 



* Livingstone's South Africa, p. 580. 



