Chapman! s Travels in Sonth Africa 217 



perhaps our best plan will be to select one animal, and bring 

 together all the unconnected notices which we can find relating to 

 its habits, instead of picking out single — perhaps more striking — 

 anecdotes regarding a variety of animals or plants. It is plainly 

 impossible that we can transcribe everything of this nature that is 

 to be met with scattered throughout the volume. We shall take 

 the elephant as our subject. 



Here is an adventure that will remind the reader of one incident 

 in the history of a still more celebrated elephant hunter, Sinbad 

 the Sailor. It occurred in pursuit of a bull elephant that Mr 

 Chapman had wounded — 



"At length I found myself in an extensive mogonono field, swarming with 

 lephants in every direction, crushing down the bushes with a sound resembling 

 the roaring of waves. Not knowing in which direction to turn, I climbed a 

 mokala (camel-thorn) tree, of which there were a few about, and which seemed 

 to be the standing-place of numerous elephants every day. On reaching the 

 top of this tree, I found myself surrounded by elephants, mostly cows, in every 

 direction, in groups closer than I ever dreamt of. My position not being very 

 enviable, I sat in breathless suspense observing the movements of the numbers 

 of gigantic animals round me on every side. At the distance of about 120 

 yards to the eastward of my position, I soon discovered the old bull which I 

 had followed, surrounded by a group of about a dozen cows, caressing and 

 fondling him ; some of them dashing him with water from their trunks, others 

 with sand. Those elephants below his wind, probably scenting his blood, 

 lifted their trunks, and after smelling a moment, gradually moved off. The 

 elephants below me were working their trunks about, but made no effort to 

 move out of the bush in which they probably considered themselves concealed ; 

 while groups, in other directions, that seemed to have got over the alarm caused 

 by the reports of our guns, were moving slowly, followed by their calves, break- 

 ing down the branches, and pulling up young shoots and grubbing roots, which 

 they strewed before their young with an air of the most maternal solicitude. A 

 shot fired on the outskirts by my servant, Abraham, drove a troop towards my 

 position, and another and another shot seemed to be bringing masses of cow 

 elephants from every direction round me ; but to my great relief, as if -actuated 

 by one impulse, the foremost began to move into two parallel files, one on each 

 side of me." — (vol. i., p. 154.) 



The following are some minor details : 



*' It is worth mentioning, by way of caution to South African hunters, that 

 most elephants recover their powers of doing mischief after appearing to be 

 mortally wounded, unless they have uttered their death-groan. I have known 

 them to fall four or five times, as if dying, and then rise again." — (vol. i., p. 89.) 



"In some places, and in some seasons, these animals (elephants) drink only 

 every other night, and then go far to feed. In parts where they are much 

 hunted, they remain two nights away from the water, and return every fourth. " 

 — (voL i., p. 88.) 



TRAVEL. Q 



