Further Experiences with Elephant 



the herd didn't much matter, as where that was 

 there were probably others to be found. So I 

 contented myself with a cob for the pot, trusting 

 that natives would bring us in news. 



After dinner that night a dishevelled savage 

 rushed in, with his eyes starting out of his head, 

 saying that a big herd of elephant was hard at 

 work playing " Old Harry " with his patch of 

 cultivation near by, and imploring me to go and 

 shoot them. He knew, so he averred, where 

 they lay up in the daytime, so we put him off till 

 the morrow. 



He was quite right about elephant having 

 pulled his place to bits, though the big herd 

 dwindled down to five, but there were two bulls 

 in it, which put matters on a better footing. We 

 started away hard on their tracks to one or other 

 of two places which he said were close together, 

 and which he would show us. Things assumed 

 a much rosier tint when the tracks showed us that 

 the smaller bull and the three cows had branched 

 off and left the biggest bull on his own. I sup- 

 pose he had got ill-tempered and had turned the 

 others out. This, whatever the reason, was 

 splendid, as there was only the one to think 

 about. From the tracks we could see that we 

 were gaining upon him. His dung was covered 

 with myriads of flies and was quite warm to the 

 touch inside, whilst it became wetter as we went 

 along. This told us he had been to water after 



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