VIII WOUNDED ELEPHANT FOUND DEAD 133 



nevertheless. Having got rid of the vicious old 

 cow, I again followed the wounded bull, which I 

 presently laid low. When my Kafirs had all 

 assembled round the carcase, one of them said 

 that he had seen the cow after I had fired at her, 

 and that he thought she would not go far, as she 

 was only walking very slowly and throwing great 

 quantities of blood from her trunk. I at once 

 resolved to follow her, and soon found that she was 

 heading straight for the valley of Dett, for which I 

 was very thankful, since the day had been intensely 

 hot, and my Kafirs and I were badly in want of 

 water, as we had drunk all we had been able to 

 carry in our calabashes before we came on the 

 elephants. 



The sun was low in the western sky, and, 

 seen through the haze of many grass fires, had 

 already turned from blazing yellow to a dull red, 

 when the spoor of the wounded elephant led us 

 suddenly out of the forest into the open grassy 

 valley, some three or four hundred yards broad, 

 through which the little stream of the Dett made 

 its sluggish way, forming many fine pools of water 

 along its course. Immediately we emerged from 

 the forest we saw the carcase of the elephant we 

 had been following lying in the open ground within 

 fifty yards of the water for which the poor animal 

 had been making, but had not quite been able to 

 reach. It was too late to commence chopping out 

 the tusks, but, leaving some of my Kafirs to cut 

 bushes and grass and prepare a camping-place for 

 the night on the edge of the forest, I went with the 

 rest to cut open the dead elephant and get the 

 heart out for my supper. 



It was whilst I was so engaged that I saw appear 

 along the valley of Dett the most interesting 

 collection of wild animals that I think I have ever 

 seen collected together in a small extent of ground. 



