THE REDISCOVERED COUNTRY 299 



that would burn. This hard, slippery', twisting work is 

 beginning to tell on my broken leg. It is badly swollen 

 and has begun to turn black below the knee. Cuning- 

 hame and I talked it over and agreed to try one more 

 day, after which we would return to "Tembo Circus" 

 for a rest. 



November 5. — The fresh Wanderobo brought us 

 news that an unsuspected portion of the herd had ap- 

 parently been feeding farther to the north. Therefore 

 we set off to look for them. Soon struck the spoor, 

 which led us directly up the mountain. It is astonish- 

 ing what steep slopes elephants will negotiate. Their 

 great weight gives them a footing by pushing the solid 

 earth aside. We zigzagged up a near-perpendicular on 

 a graded trail that the day before had not existed. The 

 surface of said graded trail had most evidently not 

 been metalled. An elephant's foot measures from fifty 

 inches in circumference; and in soft ground it often 

 sinks in ten inches to two feet. Each beast steps 

 accurately in the steps of the one before. The result 

 is a series of babies' bathtubs, generally half full of 

 muddy water, and always slippery. We followed this 

 lot up through the bamboos for two or three hours; then 

 they got our wind and evidently started off. We heard 

 them trumpet, but did not see them. At 8,100 feet we 

 turned back, sliding down the slopes, falling in and out 

 of the tracks, wading the streams, and keeping a wary 

 eye for elephant pits. These are everywhere, and are a 



