xxri TWO ELEPHANTS SHOT 481 



farther on, in the centre of the patch of thick bush 

 throuofh which we had come in the mornino;. 



He was evidently a very old animal, not having 

 any hair left on his tail. Unfortunately he had 

 only one tusk, and that was broken off a few inches 

 beyond the lip. This tusk, when weighed at the 

 waggon, turned the scale at 32 lbs. ; on the follow- 

 ing day we measured him carefully, taking a straight 

 line between two assegais placed parallel, one at his 

 shoulder, the other at the sole of his foot. Thus 

 measured, he must have stood 9 feet r i inches 

 in vertical height at the shoulder ; ^ of course the 

 top ot his back would have been some inches 

 higher. 



We were just leaving my elephant when Jameson 

 came up with the rest of the Kafirs. He had 

 despatched his also, and we went back to where it 

 lay in the open burnt forest. It was comparatively 

 a young bull, but carried fine tusks tor its size, long 

 and very white ; they weighed 32 lbs. and 34 lbs. 

 respectively. We slept that night beside the dead 

 elephant, without water, or grass to make a camp 

 with — Jameson upon one ot the huge ears, and I 

 upon a square flap ot skin. At the first streak of 

 dawn we sent some boys back to the vley we had 

 left the preceding day to get water, and upon their 

 return made a capital breakfast off elephant's heart, 

 roasted upon a forked stick before the fire, and then 

 set to work to chop out the tusks. 



When the boys I had sent to my elephant re- 

 turned to us with its single tusk, they reported that 

 they had seen fresh elephant spoor. It was then 



^ Two more old bull elephants, subsequently shot by Mr. Jameson 

 and myself, and carefully measured in a similar manner, must have 

 stood 10 feet and lo feet 4 inches at the shoulder respectively. The 

 tusks of the smaller of these two elephants weighed 50 lbs. apiece. 



2 I 



