220 THE GAME OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 



Led by these, he arrives at a place where elephants have certainly been standing that 

 day, but as it is now past their siesta time, they have already moved on. Throwing 

 caution to the winds he hurries down the spoor, hoping to overtake them. At sunset 

 he is about to give up, when he hears the sound of a heavy body moving through the 

 undergrowth somewhere ahead. Running in the direction of the sound he finds the 

 spoor of one big bull, which has separated himself from the rest of the party, but 

 which has evidently got his pursuer's wind. There is only one chance, then, 

 of getting a shot before dark sets in, and for this he must sprint down the tracks and 

 overtake the animal before it is aware of his proximity. 



For the usual custom of elephants on getting the wind of a hunter is to stampede 

 for about four or six hundred yards, and then stand perfectly still and silent, listening 

 and sniffing for any sound of danger. If, after standing a few moments they hear or 

 smell nothing to further alarm them, they make off at a rapid walk, and do not stop 

 for several hours, during which time they cover a considerable distance, varying from 

 five to twenty or more miles. If, however, they hear or smell anything that alarms 

 them, they then stampede again, but in a new direction, going for a distance of, 

 perhaps, a third of a mile, and then stop for a few minutes to listen and scent for 

 danger. 



So our hunter runs rapidly down the track till he comes to an abrupt turning, 

 where the elephant has stopped, evidently located him, and made a second stampede. 

 Turning with the track he continues to run as fast as he can, when suddenly there 

 sounds a roar of anger, and an immense body comes dashing towards him through 

 the bushes. He cannot see the animal owing to the bushes, but to his right, and a 

 little behind him, is a more open space of about twenty yards wide, so he turns back 

 and flies across it and pulls up on the opposite side ready to receive his visitor. A 

 huge elephant, with great brown-stained tusks, appears at the same moment on the 

 very spot on which he had been standing a few seconds before. There it halts and 

 sniffs, trying to locate its adversary. The old fellow evidently became bored with 

 being chased round, and resolved to put an end to affairs. 



The hunter notes the huge tusks and raises his rifle, trembling with excitement 

 and the effects of his twelve hours' hard going in the sun. He pulls the trigger, 

 but no answering report rings out. Feverishly he reloads and fires again, with the 

 same result. This must be one of the bad dreams in which big tuskers stand 

 to be shot by a rifle that will never go off, it cannot be a reality. The elephant 

 turns to go off, and the hunter, having reloaded once again, fires a hurriedly aimed 

 shot. This time the rifle blazes forth, and the elephant stumbles. Ah ! Those 

 tusks are to be his, after all ! He reloads again to make sure of the animal, but 



