XI FINE ELAND SHOT 213 



the water's edge as on any of the islands out in the 

 marsh. 



On Thursday, September 3 — the day after my 

 return to the mainland — my star was in the ascend- 

 ant, as on it I shot five elephants out of one herd, 

 besides a fine eland cow. The latter was one of a large 

 herd that I came upon standing just by the water's 

 edge on leaving my camp at first dawn of day. There 

 was not a single bull amongst the lot, so, picking out 

 a cow with nice long horns, I fired with my elephant 

 gun, and breaking her neck, she fell on the spot in 

 about a foot of water, so that we had to drag her 

 several yards to dry land before we could cut her up. 

 She proved to be a fine young cow in good condition, 

 of the grey desert species, without a vestige of a stripe 

 on her. Her horns, which were very fine, measured 

 33 inches in length, curving slightly outwards at 

 the points. After cutting out her tongue, breast, 

 and heart, and putting the horns in a tree, I gave 

 the rest ot the meat to my canoe-men, who here 

 left me. 



I then again followed the edge of the marsh — 

 which trended nearly due south — accompanied only 

 by my own Kafirs. About a mile farther on was 

 a large shallow lagoon, separated from the marsh by 

 a narrow strip of land, and there we found the spoor 

 of a very large herd of elephants that had drunk 

 during the night. The sun was scarcely an hour 

 high, so putting down my baggage, and leaving two 

 of my Makalakas, who were still suffering slightly 

 from fever, to look after everything, I at once started 

 in pursuit. Just within the goussy forest, which 

 here extends almost to the water, the elephants had 

 dug up at least an acre ot ground in search of roots, 

 and I had good hopes of soon overtaking them ; but 



