UGANDA, AND THE NYANZA LAKES 387 



he died. On we went, following the bloody trail through 

 dim, cavernous windings in the dark, vine-covered jungle; 

 we heard him smash the branches but a few yards ahead, 

 and fall and rise; and stealing forward Kermit and I 

 slipped up to within a dozen feet of him as he stood on 

 the other side of some small twisted trees, hung with a mat 

 of creepers. I put a bullet into his heart, Kermit fired; 

 each of us fired again on the instant; the mighty bull threw 

 up his trunk, crashed over backward, and lay dead on his 

 side among the bushes. A fine sight he was, a sight to glad- 

 den any hunter's heart, as he lay in the twilight, a giant in 

 death. 



At once we trotted back to camp, reaching it as dark- 

 ness fell; and next morning all of us came out to the carcass. 

 He was full grown, and was ten feet nine inches high. 

 The tusks were rather short, but thick, and weighed a 

 hundred and ten pounds the pair. Out of the trunk we 

 made excellent soup. 



Several times while following the trail of this big bull 

 we could tell he was close by the strong elephant smell. 

 Most game animals have a peculiar scent, often strong 

 enough for the species to be readily recognizable before 

 it is seen, if in forest or jungle. On the open plains, of 

 course, one rarely gets close enough to an animal to smell 

 it before seeing it; but I once smelled a herd of hartebeest, 

 when the wind was blowing strongly from them, although 

 they were out of sight over a gentle rise. Waterbuck have 

 a very strong smell. Buffalo smell very much like do- 

 mestic cattle, but old bulls are rank. More than once, 

 in forest, my nostrils have warned me before my eyes that 

 I was getting near the quarry whose spoor I was on. 



