368 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



so exhausted her that she let me escape more easily 

 than she would otherwise have done : perhaps this, 

 too, accounts for her not further molesting the 

 horse. 



It was now almost dark ; neither our horses nor 

 ourselves had had a drink all day, and we did not 

 know where we should find water, so we resolved to 

 make for the Umsengaisi river, from which Wood 

 did not think we were far distant ; it was not, how- 

 ever, until we had had a weary tramp of two hours or 

 so in the dark that we at length reached it. Just 

 where we struck it, the river was dry ; but after 

 following down its course for about a mile, we found 

 a rather muddy water-hole, which was nevertheless 

 most acceptable under the circumstances. Having 

 neither food nor blankets with us, we built a large 

 fire, and proceeded to make ourselves as comfortable 

 as we could. 



Early the following morning we went to count 

 and examine the dead elephants. I led my horse 

 with me, after having washed his wounds well with 

 cold water, intending to send him back to the 

 waggons at the Umbila river as soon as my boys 

 came up, for of all our Kafirs that had started with 

 us the preceding morning, my friends' three gun- 

 carriers were the only ones that had kept up with us, 

 which was nothing to their discredit, as they were all 

 carrying loads. The elephant's tusk had entered my 

 horse's buttock near the anus, running obliquely into 

 the rectum ; I had it syringed out morning and 

 evening with strong carbolic lotion, and although for 

 some time the poor beast seemed in a very precarious 

 condition, in two months trom then the wound had 

 quite healed up, and he had entirely recovered from 

 its effects. When we reached the dead elephants we 



