26 THROUGH GASA LAND. 



we came to a boabab tree {Adansonia gigantica), 

 hollow, as they usually are, with a large aperture on 

 one side, and a smaller one on the other. Into this 

 most welcome sanctuary we bolted, for the infuriated 

 beast could be heard breaking through the brush 

 only a short distance behind. He must either have 

 scented us through the irregularity of the currents 

 of wind, or seen us cross some less densely covered 

 ground we had traversed. I thought we were now 

 safe, so took observations from our hiding-place. 

 The elephant was roading us with as much certainty 

 as a retriever would a wounded partridge. At 

 length he came to the tree in which we were 

 secreted, but supposing we had gone on, he would 

 have passed it, when I gave him a bullet behind the 

 eye and another in the neck. Neither of these shots 

 appeared to do much more harm than increase his 

 wrath, for, wheeling at right angles to his course, he 

 charged the boabab through the centre of the smoke. 

 The shock was not very great, for the animal had 

 too little impetus to make it so. Still, the way that 

 he made the bark fly, through slashing about with 

 his tusks, told what a small chance a human being 

 that fell into his power would have for life. By the 

 time that I had got reloaded the elephant had 

 backed several paces, when he again charged, this 

 time to such effect as to make me fear that the 

 shell of the tree would give way. The infuriated 

 beast seemed to think that a repetition of his last 



