CHAPTER XX. 



ONE ELEPHANT TOO MANY. 



I HAD fitted out a fairly big " safari," and the pace 

 was somewhat slow in consequence. As usual, I 

 marched on ahead of my party, and, after selecting 

 the site for the camp, sat down on a convenient 

 ant-heap to digest the contents of my latest 

 newspaper, which was never less than two months 

 behind the times. In the meantime I sent my 

 orderly to the nearest shamba (collection of native 

 huts) to summon the local chief, with a view of 

 giving him orders to bring food for my porters. 

 On his arrival I learned that half his crops had 

 been destroyed during the previous night by a 

 herd of elephants, and had terrified out of their wits 

 the wretched natives, who had tried by shouting 

 and noise to rid themselves of their unwelcome 

 visitors. 



Delighted with this news, I hurried off to inspect 

 the scene of the elephants' depredations. 



The annoyance of the chief could be well 

 understood, for the whole place had been turned 

 upside down by the elephants, and a mass of young 

 bark-cloth trees, sugar-canes, and sweet potatoes 

 lay littered around the shamba. 



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