ELEPHANT HUNTING 249 



with Spanish moss; trees whose surfaces were corrugated 

 and knotted as if they were made of bundles of great creep- 

 ers; and giants whose buttressed trunks were four times a 

 man's length across. 



Twice we got on elephant spoor, once of a single bull, 

 once of a party of three. Then Cuninghame and the 

 'Ndorobo redoubled their caution. They would minutely 

 examine the fresh dung; and above all they continually 

 tested the wind, scanning the tree tops, and lighting matches 

 to see from the smoke what the eddies were near the ground. 

 Each time after an hour's stealthy stepping and crawling 

 along the twisted trail a slight shift of the wind in the al- 

 most still air gave our scent to the game, and away it went 

 before we could catch a glimpse of it; and we resumed our 

 walk. The elephant paths led up hill and down for the 

 beasts are wonderful climbers and wound in and out in 

 every direction. They were marked by broken branches 

 and the splintered and shattered trunks of the smaller 

 trees, especially where the elephant had stood and fed, 

 trampling down the bushes for many yards around. Where 

 they had crossed the marshy valleys they had punched big 

 round holes, three feet deep, in the sticky mud. 



As evening fell we pitched camp by the side of a little 

 brook at the bottom of a ravine, and dined ravenously on 

 bread, mutton, and tea. The air was keen, and under our 

 blankets we slept in comfort until dawn. Breakfast was 

 soon over and camp struck; and once more we began our 

 cautious progress through the dim, cool archways of the 

 mountain forest. 



Two hours after leaving camp we came across the fresh 

 trail of a small herd of perhaps ten or fifteen elephant 



