430 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



proceeded far when we heard an elephant call at no 

 great distance, and shortly afterwards a tree was broken 

 down with a loud crash. We soon cut their spoor, 

 and a few minutes later came up with the animals 

 themselves, a poor lot of cows, with one young bull 

 amongst them. Atter a very severe run Miller and 

 I killed the young bull, four large cows, and a 

 heifer ; two more good cows getting away very 

 badly wounded. These I should have bagged, I 

 have little doubt, but the Kafir who carried my spare 

 cartridges did not keep up with us, so that I only 

 had thirteen shots — twelve in the belt and one in 

 the rifle — all of which I fired away. French, who 

 was not much of a runner, shot one cow before they 

 started, but did not follow up the herd. When we 

 all met again, he told us that he had also pursued a 

 wounded one for some distance, and given it a shot 

 in the rump, and that he intended following it up. 

 I urged him strongly not to do so, not because any 

 thought of the dreadful issue ever crossed my mind, 

 but simply because I knew from experience that in 

 nineteen cases out of twenty it is useless to follow a 

 wounded elephant on foot. 



Unfortunately, my ill-fated friend thought other- 

 wise, and calling two ot his Kafirs (his gun and 

 water carriers) started on the spoor, saying, however, 

 that he would not follow it very far. This is the 

 last time I ever saw him alive. Miller and I then 

 went back to our camp, which was not more than 

 three miles distant. We were scarcely there when 

 we heard two heavy shots fired in quick succession, 

 and at once concluded, that, contrary to our expec- 

 tations, French had come up with the wounded 

 elephant, and that as he had overtaken her so quickly 

 he would soon be with us again in camp. But as 



