340 TO THE UASIN GISHU [ch. xii 



to photograph them. We did not need to kill another 

 cow for the National Museum, and so, after we had 

 looked at the huge, interesting creatures as long as we 

 wished, we croaked and whistled, and they moved off 

 with leisurely indifference. There is always a fascina- 

 tion about watching elephants ; they are such giants, 

 they are so intelligent —much more so than any other 

 game, except perhaps the lion, whose intelligence has a 

 very sinister bent — and they look so odd with their 

 great ears flapping and their trunks lifting and curling. 

 Elephants are rai-ely absolutely still for any length of 

 time ; now and then they flap an ear, or their bodies 

 sway slightly, while at intervals they utter curious 

 internal rumblings, or trumpet gently. These were 

 feeding on saplings of the mimosas and other trees, 

 apparently caring nothing for the thorns of the former ; 

 they would tear off branches, big or little, or snap a 

 trunk short off" if the whim seized them. They sM^al- 

 lowed the leaves and twigs of these trees ; but I have 

 known them merely chew and spit out the stems of 

 certain bushes. 



After leaving the elephants we were on oin- way back 

 to camp when we saw a white man in the trail ahead ; 

 and on coming nearer who should it prove to be but 

 Carl Akeley, who was out on a trip for the American 

 Museum of Natural History, in New York. We went 

 with him to his camp, where we found JNlrs. Akeley, 

 Clark, who was assisting him, and Messrs. McCutcheon 

 and Stevenson, who were on a similar errand. They 

 were old friends, and I was very glad to see them. 

 McCutcheon, the cartoonist, had been at a farewell 

 lunch given me by llobert Collier just before I left 

 New York, and at the lunch we had been talking much 

 of George Ade, and the first question I put to him was 



