PAAPAA FOUNTAIN. 189 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



Paapaa Fountein — Watch by Moonlight from a Shooting-hole — Re- 

 markable Sport with Elephants — Four bagged and eight mortally 

 wounded in one Night — Elephant Hunting with Horse and Dogs by 

 Moouliglit — A Troop of Lions — The Vultures with the shadowy 

 Wings — Another Dog snapped up by a Crocodile — Tiie Skeleton of 

 an Elephant shot by me discovered — The Tusks being gone, strong 

 Measures are adopted for their Recovery. 



On the 17th of September I resolved to leave the 

 fountain of Seboono, as it was nniuch disturbed, and to 

 proceed with a few Balvalahari to a small yet famous 

 water about six miles to the southeast. We accord- 

 ingly saddled up and held thither. On reaching this 

 fountain, which is called by the natives " Paaj)aa," I 

 found the numerous foot-paths leading to it covered, as 

 1 had anticipated, with fresh spoor of elephant and rhi- 

 noceros. I then at once proceeded to study the best 

 spot on which to make our shooting-hole for the night. 

 It would be impossible to prevent some of the game 

 from getting our wind, for the foot-paths led to it from 

 every side. The prevailing wind was from the east, 

 so I pitched upon the southwest corner of the fountain. 

 The water was not more than twenty yards long and 

 ten broad. The west side was bounded by tufous rock, 

 which rose abruptly from the water about five feet high. 

 The top of this rock was level with the surrounding 

 vley, and here all the elephants drank, as if suspicious 

 of treading on the muddy margin on the other three 

 sides of the fountain. I made our shooting-box within 

 six or eight yards of the water, constructing it in a cir- 



