VIII BULL ELEPHANT SHOT 153 



was evidently done for, and only walking slowly 

 along, swinging his trunk from side to side. Some 

 of my Kafirs having run round in front of him, now 

 commenced to shout, on which he turned and came 

 walking slowly back again towards me. As he passed 

 at not more than twenty yards from me, I gave him 

 another four-ounce ball in the centre of the shoulder, 

 which brought him to a stand, and after receiving 

 another immediately afterwards from my second gun, 

 he fell flat on his side stone dead. On examination, 

 we found him to be a fine old bull, with a perfect pair 

 of tusks, weighing nearly 60 lbs. apiece, and I felt 

 very well pleased at having secured him with so little 

 trouble. The work of chopping out the tusks, and 

 cutting out the fat and the best portions of the meat, 

 occupied the greater part of the afternoon, so that 

 when we reached the river at the drinking-place from 

 whence I had taken the spoor in the morning, and 

 where the two Kafirs had been left in charge of the 

 baggage, it was already late, therefore I at once set 

 to work to clear a piece of ground just within the 

 bush and close to the water's edge, for as this was 

 evidently a favourite drinking-place for elephants, 

 I determined to remain in the same camp and hunt 

 the surrounding jungle during the following week 

 or so. 



Scarcely had we got everything ship-shape, when, 

 just as, seated on my bed of dry grass, I was about 

 to commence a supper of fried elephant's heart, 

 washed down with a cup of bitter tea, one of the 

 Kafirs reported that a large herd of buffaloes were 

 coming down the valley to the drinking-place, on 

 which I got up, and went to the edge of the bush to 

 have a look at them. The whole of the open ground 

 was literally covered with their massive dusky forms. 



