66 Wild Beasts 



alive and standing, but unable to walk. . . . They slept 

 near him, thinking he might die during the night ; but at 

 an early hour after dark they heard another elephant at a 

 distance, apparently calling, and he was answered by the 

 wounded one. The calls and answers continued until the 

 stranger came up, and they saw him giving the hurt one 

 water, after which he assisted in taking his maimed com- 

 panion away." Such was the story told Green when the 

 party came back. He disbelieved their statements 

 entirely, went off to the spot to see what had happened 

 for himself, and thus relates his own observations : — 



" The next afternoon found me at the identical place 

 where I had left the wounded elephant. I can only say 

 that the account of the Bushmen as to the stranger 

 elephant coming up to the maimed one was proved by 

 the spoor ; and that their further assertion as to his 

 having assisted his unfortunate friend in removing else- 

 where was also fully verified from the spoor of the two 

 being close alongside of each other — the broken leg of 

 the wounded one leaving after it a deep furrow in the 

 sand. As I was satisfied that these parts of their story 

 were correct, I did not see any further reason to doubt 

 the other." 



Male elephants rarely fall in the holes which undermine 

 so many parts of Africa ; they carry their trunks low, have 

 no one to look out for but themselves, and so detect these 

 traps, and generally uncover them. Moodie makes the 

 statement that many elephants follow the recent trails of 

 those who went before them to watering-places, and if 

 these turned off, took it for a sign of danger, and did not 



