264 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



When one troop has been attacked, all the other ele- 

 phants frequenting the district are aware of the fact 

 within two or three days, when they all forsake it, and 

 migrate to distant parts, leaving the hunter no alterna- 

 tive but to inspan his wagons, and remove to fresh 

 ground. This constitutes one of the greatest difficul- 

 ties which a skillful elephant-hunter encounters. Even 

 in the most remote parts, which may be reckoned the 

 head-quarters of the elephant, it is only occasionally, 

 and with inconceivable toil and hardship, that the eye 

 of the hunter is cheered by the sight of one. Owing 

 to habits peculiar to himself, the elephant is more in- 

 accessible, and much more rarely seen, than any other 

 game quadruped, excepting certain rare antelopes. 

 They choose for their resort the most lonely and se- 

 cluded depths of the forest, generally at a very great 

 distance from the rivers and fountains at which they 

 drink. In dry and warm weather they visit these 

 waters nightly, but in cool and cloudy weather they 

 Irink only once every third or fourth day. About sun- 

 down the elephant leaves his distant mid-day haunt, 

 and commences his march toward the fountain, which 

 is probably from twelve to twenty miles distant. This 

 he generally reaches between the hours of nine and 

 midnight, when, having slaked his thirst and cooled 

 his body by spouting large volumes of water over his 

 back with his trunk, ho resumes the path to his forest 

 solitudes. Having reached a secluded spot, I have re- 

 marked that full-grown bulls lie down on their broad- 

 sides, about the hour of midnight, and sleep for a few 

 hours. The spot which they usually select is an ant- 

 hill, and they lie around it with their backs resting 

 against it; these hills, formed by the white ants, are 

 from thirty to forty feet in diameter at their base. Tho 



