404 GAME WARY ELEPHANTS APPROACHING. 



Notwithstanding ray anxious desire to reach the Ngami — 

 the goal of my wishes — I determined, before finally leaving 

 Kobis, to devote one more day, or rather night, to the de- 

 struction of the denizens of the forest. But the adventure 

 nearly terminated fatally ; and the night of the 15th of July 

 will ever be remembered by me as one of the most eventful 

 epochs of my life ; for, in the course of it, I was three sev- 

 eral times in the very jaws of death, and only escaped de- 

 struction by a miracle. 



From the constant persecution to which the larger game 

 had of late been subjected at Kobis, it had become not only 

 scarce, but wary ; and hearing that elephants and rhinoce- 

 roses still continued to resort to Abeghan, I forthwith proceed- 

 ed there on the night in question. Somewhat incautiously 

 I took up my position — alone, as usual — on a narrow neck 

 of land dividing two small pools, the space on either side 

 of my " skarm" being only sufficient for a large animal to 

 stand between me and the water. I was provided with a 

 blanket and two or three spare guns. 



It was one of those magnificent tropical moonlight nights 

 when an indescribable soft and enchanting light is shed over 

 the slumbering landscape ; the moon was so bright and clear 

 that I could discern even a small animal at a considerable 

 distance. 



I had just completed my arrangements, when a noise that 

 I can liken only to the passage of a train of artillery broke 

 the stillness of the air ; it evidently came from the direction 

 of one of the numerous stony paths, or rather tracks, leading 

 to the water, and I imagined it was caused by some wagons 

 that might have crossed the Kalahari. Raising myself par- 

 tially from my recumbent posture, I fixed my eyes steadily on 

 the part of the bush whence the strange sounds proceeded, 

 but for some time I was unable to make out the cause. All 

 at once, however, the mystery was explained by the appear- 

 ance of an immense elephant, immediately followed by oth- 



