THE CAMP A T NIGHT 



as they sat round, eating their evening meal and telling 

 their exploits in past hunting expeditions. The mules 

 were tethered in two long lines well in the centre of 

 the camp. Every one was very much on the alert, too 

 much so for sleep I found, as they talked all night. 

 Next day, soon after we had seen some tora, we heard 

 elephants feeding in a bamboo-brake. The Abyssinians 

 begged me not to go in, for fear the beasts should bolt 

 towards us, as it is not easy to get away along a path 

 blocked with fallen bamboos, which of course offer no 

 obstacle to elephants. Taking the 8-bore and the .400, 

 Ali, Hyde, and myself gradually worked towards the 

 spot where the noise indicated the elephants were tear- 

 ing down the bamboos. The herd was a good deal 

 scattered, and it took a long time getting up close 

 enough to inspect their tusks without letting the rest 

 wind us. At last we made sure that there was nothing 

 worth shooting, as the herd consisted of one bull with 

 small tusks, five cows, and two calves. We got to 

 within 12 yards of one of the brutes, and were watching 

 the way it just scrunched off the juicy part of each 

 bamboo, when another winded us, and there was a 

 stampede all round ; fortunately we were not in the 

 route of any of them, and they all crashed by us safely. 

 Camp had now been moved further towards Mount 

 Balaire, and was pitched in a very hot, sunny place. 

 On reaching this I had to remonstrate with Belat 

 Wurgie for letting his men shoot and disturb the 

 ground, but I promised them that, if they left me alone 

 to do the shooting, they should have all that fell, except 

 the skin and head. 



