120 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



was inflicted by a four-ounce ball, backed by a heavy 

 charge of powder, I cannot understand why it did not 

 penetrate to his brain ; it had half-stunned him, how- 

 ever, and saved my life, for, had he come on again, it 

 would have been utterly impossible for me, fatigued 

 as I was, to have avoided him. After standing still 

 for a short time, swaying himselt gently from side to 

 side, he again turned and took across the flat. Nuta, 

 seeing what had happened, instead of trying to turn 

 him again, cleared out of his road, and, making a 

 large circle, came back to me. Perhaps it was as 

 well he did so. 



I now gave up the pursuit, for I was completely 

 fagged out, and laid myself down in the shade of the 

 nearest camel-thoni tree, and after an hour's rest, 

 as the sun was getting low, I started back. At 

 length I rejoined W. and all the Kafirs, at the spot 

 where we had put down the calabashes and axes on 

 first sighting the elephants. Every one looked very 

 glum, and I soon . found that W. had been equally 

 unfortunate with myself, so that between the lot of 

 us we had not bagged one single elephant. 



I felt sure, however, that the bull I had first 

 wounded was not very far from where I had last 

 seen him, and so, after drinking a little water, of 

 which I was much in need, we all went to try and 

 ferret him out. After a good deal of trouble we hit 

 ofl^ my spoor, and at last found my hat stuck in a 

 thick thorn bush, which was further decked with my 

 leather belt and the greater portion of my shirt. We 

 found from the spoor, that the cow had pursued me 

 right up to this bush, and then turned back, and I 

 cannot help thinking that it was to her having smelt 

 the hat that I owed my escape. We now looked for 

 the bull's spoor, and soon found it besprinkled with 



