270 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



her broadside against a thorny tree, which yielded like 

 grass before her enormous weight, she uttered a deep 

 hoarse cry and expired, - This was a very handsome 

 old cow elephant, and was decidedly the best in the 

 troop. She was in excellent condition, and carried a 

 pair of long and perfect tusks. 1 was in high spirits at 

 my success, and felt so perfectjy satisfied with having 

 killed one, that, although it was still early in the day, 

 and my horses were fresh, I allovv^ed the troop of five 

 bulls to remain unmolested, foolishly trusting to fall in 

 with them next day. How little did I then know of 

 the habits of elephants, or the rules to be adopted in 

 hunting them, or deem it probable I should never see 

 them more! 



Having knee-haltered our horses, we set to work with 

 our knives and assagais to prepare the skull for the 

 hatchet, in order to cut out the tusks, nearly half the 

 length of which, I may mention, is imbedded in bone 

 sockets in the fore part of the skull. To cut out the 

 tusks of a cow elephant requires barely one fifth of the 

 labor requisite to cut out those of a bull; and when the 

 sun w^ent down, we had managed by our combined ef- 

 forts to cut out one of the tusks of my first elephant, 

 with which we triumphantly returned to camp, hav- 

 ing left the guides in charge of the carcass, where they 

 volunteered to take up their quarters for the night. 

 On reaching my wagons I found Johannus and Carol- 

 lus in a happy state of indifference to all passing 

 events: they were both very drunk, having broken into 

 my wine-cask and spirit-case. 



On the 28th I arose at an eariy hour, and, burning 

 with anxiety to look forth once more from the summit 

 of the hillock which the day before brought me such 

 luck, I made a hasty breakfast, and rode thither with 



