A BIG ELEPHANT. =o 
unless he has experienced it, can imagine the labor that 
this geographical work entails. 
Every little difference in the method of portage, and 
every variation of climate changes the rate of a chronom- 
eter to varying degrees. ‘Fortunately one of my chro- 
nometers, lent me by the Royal Geographical Society, was 
admirably compensated, and did not vary over a second a 
day, at any time, from the effect of climatic changes; but 
even one second in time means a quarter of a mile on the 
map, so that I had to rate continually, and look sharp 
for the best time for doing so. My second chronometer, 
which I bought in London, varied as much as four seconds 
a day under the effect of changes in temperature. Both 
my watclies were half chronometers, such as are carried 
now by elmost every traveller on land, and cost in London 
about £40. 
One morning, from my camp at the foot of the Amara 
Mountains, I could see with my glasses four elephants 
feeding onalittle plain by the river; so taking Dodson and 
three boys, I started in pursuit. This time I did not go 
close to the animals, but stationed myself with Dodson 
behind the trunk of a tree sixty yards away. Giving Dod- 
son my eight-bore, I took a careful aim with the .577, and 
fired. The elephant dropped on its knees, and then got 
up again and walked along at right angles to us in a very 
dazed manner. The animal seemed to be about to drop 
every instant; so I told Dodson to fire with his eight-bore, 
and I also took a couple of shots more. But the elephant 
had received a mortal wound in the head, and after going 
ninety yards fell over on his side dead. The other ele- 
phants now made off; but I was so pleased at getting my 
one animal, as he had such splendid tusks, that I did not 
hunt any more. The elephant stood eleven feet four inches 
to the shoulder, with one tusk weighing eighty-seven pounds 
15 
