296 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



a herd of brindlo4 gnoos and two or three troops of 

 pallahs ; and soon after, a second herd of about fifteen 

 catnelopards stood browsing before us, and, getting our 

 wind, dashed away to our lef . We had proceeded about 

 two miles further, and it was now within two hours of 

 sunset, when, lo ! a thorny tree, newly smashed by an 

 elephant. Some of the natives attentively examined 

 the leaves of the broken branches to ascertain exactly 

 when he had been there, while some for the same pur- 

 pose overhauled the spoor. It was the spoor of a first- 

 rate bull : he had fed there that morning at the dawn 

 of day. IThe ground was hard and bad for spooring, 

 but the natives evinced great skill, and, following it for 

 a short distance, we came to ground where a troop of 

 bull elephants had pastured not many hours before. 

 Here the thorny trees on every side were demolished 

 by them, and huge branches and entire trees were rent 

 and uprooted, and lay scattered across our path, having 

 been carried several yards in the trunks of the elephants 

 before they stood to eat the leaves : the ground also 

 was here and there plowed up by their tusks in quest 

 of roots ; and in these places the enormous fresh spoor 

 — that thrilling sight to a hunter's eye — was beauti- 

 fully visible. 



All this was extremely interesting and gratifying; 

 but I had been so often disappointed, and it was now 

 so very near sunset, that I entertained but faint hopes 

 of finding them that evening. Mutchuisho was very 

 anxious that I should see the elephants ; he had divest- 

 ed himself of his kaross, and, carrying one of the mus- 

 kets which Sicomy had bought from me, he led the 

 spooring party, consisting of about fifteen cunning old 

 hands The great body of the men he had ordered to 

 sit down and remain quiet until the attack commenced 



