CJ?OSS THE RIVER 53 



to see that the cartridges I had specially ordered for 

 elephant-shooting had nickel-coated, soft-nosed bullets. 

 These, fired into such a mass of bone, were bound to 

 expand before penetrating far. 



I tried following one blood-stained track, but the beast 

 had crossed and recrossed so often that it was impossible. 

 On reaching camp, the whole place was strewn with 

 portions of elephant, and every one was engaged in 

 cleaning and pegging out the trophies. My companions 

 had each saved a complete head-skin, intending to have 

 it set up with the large ivory we hoped to get near Lake 

 Rudolf. On a previous trip I had taken one home, and 

 therefore did not care to save another until I had actually 

 shot the big tusker. 



Later in the afternoon, as the work was going all 

 right, I took one man and went along the belt of jungle 

 by the side of the H awash. The river is here a muddy 

 stream, some 40 yards across and 6 feet deep, flowing 

 between sandy banks rising to 30 or 40 feet, often 

 shaded by fine trees, with their branches touchmg the 

 water. In many places the jungle was so thick, that the 

 only approach to the river was by tunnels made by the 

 hippopotamuses. Except a few crocodiles in the river, 

 the only thing I saw was a kudu cow, though there were 

 numerous tracks ot zebra, oryx, and elephant. Next 

 morning we all crossed the river in the Berthon boat, 

 three at a time, taking in all forty minutes to ferry. We 

 then separated, I myself going a little up-stream and then 

 climbing a hill, from the top of which we had a fine view 

 of the great bend of the Hawash, at the lower end of 

 which we had camped. A " sassa " gave us a long 



