XVII SIX ELEPHANTS SHOT 359 



Hartley and his party shot, some years ago, an 

 elephant bull with a stump tail, whence its rather 

 curious name. At that time, he said, there was no 

 tsetse fly on this side of the hill. We, however, 

 caught some of these execrable insects upon our 

 horses when still several miles distant from it, and 

 had to make a hasty retreat in consequence. As we 

 had been keeping a sharp look-out, we caught these 

 flies — six altogether — as soon as ever they settled 

 upon, and before they had time to "stick" our horses. 



On our way back to the waggons we shot an 

 eland bull and a wild pig, the latter in very good 

 condition; and I may here say that in the opinion of 

 most hunters there are few things more palatable 

 than the flesh of a fat wild pig — his head baked to a 

 turn forms a dish that an epicure would not despise. 

 Upon reaching camp I found that my waggon had 

 already arrived, having come on by moonlight. 



My driver had, however, managed to miss the 

 sable antelope's head that I had placed in a tree by 

 the roadside, and it was owing to this circumstance 

 that we killed a few elephants the following day, tor, 

 having sent two boys back at day-dawn to get the 

 horns, they returned running, soon afterwards, 

 shouting out something whilst still a good way ofl^. 

 At first we thought there were lions after the horses, 

 and seizing our rifles ran down to meet them ; but it 

 turned out that as they were following the waggon 

 spoor they had seen a small troop of elephants, and 

 so had hastened back to tell us. Of course we at 

 once saddled up, and riding to where the boys had 

 seen them took their spoor, and before long came up 

 with the animals themselves, a small worthless lot of v, 



cows. 01 these we shot the six largest. 



The next day Messrs. Wood and Cross rode Jback 



