XVII THE ENCHANTED REED 355 



and intentions of their chief, the great mass of his 

 people believe implicitly in the power of this Mashuna 

 god, and my friends found it expedient to pay the 

 old fellow a visit, to obtain his gracious permission 

 to go and "kill the elephants nicely," for, until they 

 did this, their boys would only hunt in a listless, 

 half-hearted sort of way, constantly saying, " What 

 is the use of your hunting elephants in Situngweesa's 

 country without first getting his permission to do 

 so ? " But when, by the help of presents, the old 

 fellow's good word was obtained, and Wood's head 

 Kafir had been given a long reed, with which, when 

 they were on the spoor, he was to bring the elephants 

 back on their tracks, by first pointing the way they 

 had gone with the enchanted reed, and then drawing 

 it towards him, they at once seemed changed beings 

 and hunted with the greatest alacrity ; and as, before 

 my friencis paid a visit to the seer, they had upon 

 two or three occasions followed elephants without 

 coming up with them, and were afterwards very 

 successful, their belief in Situngweesa's power, and 

 the efficacy of the enchanted reed, became more con- 

 firmed than ever. 



It was whilst they were hunting at Matja-ung- 

 ombe that Wood's head Kafir, a man named 

 Ouabeet, from the town of Inxoichin, was killed 

 by an elephant. I give the story of this mishap as 

 I heard it from Clarkson's own lips. 



" Early in September, Messrs. Cross and Wood 

 having taken the waggon to some neighbouring 

 kraals to buy corn, I rode out by myself, and crossing 

 fresh elephant spoor, followed it, and at length came 

 up with the animals themselves — nine bulls, one of 

 them an enormous beast without tusks. As soon as 

 I fired upon them the tuskless bull turned out and 



