200 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



or very nearly so, I dispatched Carey to camp for fresh 

 supplies. After he had gone I walked through the for- 

 est, when I observed " Frochuni" snuff up the wind 

 and go ahead. I soon saw him returning, with two 

 jackals trotting behind him, so I at once knew that 

 there was some game lying dead in advance. When 

 I had proceeded a little further the dogs ran forward, 

 and next moment a rush of many feet was heard charg- 

 ing toward where I stood. It was a troop of half-grown 

 lions, with a lioness, which dashed past me, followed 

 by the dogs. They had been feasting on a white rhi- 

 noceros, shot by me two nights previously, which I 

 found lying a little in advance. Beside the ca., dss 

 stood a fine fat calf — the poor thing, no doubt, fancying 

 that its mother slept ; heedless of lions, and all the other 

 creatures that had trodden there, it had remained be- 

 side its dead mother for a day and two nights. Rhi- 

 noceros' calves always stick to their mothers long after 

 they are dead. The next night I was again successful 

 in a night-hunt, and bagged a very fine bull elephant. 

 This wound up my elephant night-shooting for that 

 moon, for next day there was a most awful thunder- 

 storm, which filled the forest with large pools of water. 

 While reviewing my extraordinary good fortune dur- 

 ing the last week's hunting, I could not help deeply re- 

 gretting that I had not earlier thought of pursuing the 

 elephants at night with dogs and horses : if I had com- 

 menced with the dogs only a week sooner, I might have 

 bagged eight or ten first-rate bulls, which I knew were 

 mortally wounded, but were, nevertheless, not forthcom- 

 ing. The ivory of these elephants would have brought 

 me in upward of ^200 ; and it was vexing to think 

 that many, if not all of them, were lying rotting in the 

 surrounding fcrest. Isly orly chance of finding them 



