2i8 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



forwards until they had dried and brought every 

 fraction, even to the bones, down to the river. 



After burying the tusks of the elephants under 

 a large tree near the water's edge, which we could 

 not fail to recognise on our return, I again pushed 

 forwards, skirting along, the marsh in a southerly 

 direction. Singular to say, the pookoo antelopes, 

 which were so abundant some thirty miles farther 

 back, had now entirely disappeared, though the char- 

 acter of the country and the vegetation remained 

 precisely the same in every particuhir. I cannot 

 think of any reason to account for the curious local- 

 isation of this species. 



Next day (September 6) we again kept on along 

 the edge of the marsh, and saw much game — giraffe, 

 elands, koodoos, impalas, blue wildebeests, tsessebes, 

 wild pigs, and out in the marsh numberless lechwes. 

 We also crossed some elephant and a few rhinoceros 

 spoors, not very old, though these latter animals are 

 rather scarce all along the Chobe. About two hours 

 past mid-day, coming to some well-worn elephant 

 paths with recent tracks upon them, leading to and 

 from the water, I resolved to pass the night in their 

 vicinity ; so, putting down the baggage, 1 left most 

 of my Kafirs to form a camp, and then with the rest 

 took a stroll forwards, to reconnoitre the land and 

 pass away the time until sundown. We had not left 

 the camp a mile behind when we espied the black 

 massive forms of a herd of buffaloes lying asleep in 

 the shade of some large goussy trees, just on the 

 edge of the sand-belt, and not lOO yards from 

 the water. As we passed they got our wind, and 

 the whole herd, after running together and eyeing 

 us for a few moments, turned and took themselves 

 slowly off^, enveloped in a cloud of dust. A short 



