SPORT ON THE RUKUSI STREAM. 79 



the rainy season, but at this time they were all dried up. As my Angoni had been 

 causing me trouble lately, I paid them off and took on more Awemba who applied for 

 work. 



After doing so I went back to Katema's village again, and from there I went 

 to a village called Wandauka's and camped under a tree near a pool in the Rukusi. 



The natives took me through some very wild country on the 14th; one place they 

 called " Nyanie " (Baboon) was a deep pool in the Rukusi, the water being a beautiful 

 green colour. Here there was a precipice, which must be a fine waterfall in the rainy 

 season. The place was simply littered with elephant spoor, but all females. The 

 animals had used the place for ages, and had made a sort of staircase to the higher 

 ground, formed of huge rock steps pressed down and to the side. Going up this to 

 the higher ground, we ^passed through a big stretch of country, seeing a herd of 

 zebras and three different couples of klipspringers. 



When near camp I saw a single zebra, which is rather unusual for they are almost 

 invariably found in herds. 



As the tent was in sight 1 killed this animal, having to fire two long shots. This 

 beast had been mauled by a lion, for his rump was scarred, and this, doubtless, 

 accounted for him running alone. 



The 15th turned out to be a very unlucky day, for I had the bad fortune to wound 

 a fine bull elephant. , 



We had struck the spoor of two rhinos and were following, when we came on the 

 tracks of this bull. Leaving the rhino spoor we began to spoor the elephant, and had 

 only gone, perhaps, three miles when we heard him ahead, feeding. Taking the 

 •400, and Kaputi following me with the '303, I approached to within fifty yards. He 

 was standing beautifully, broadside on, but there was a sapling covering his shoulder. 

 I aimed for behind the shoulder and fired. The elephant gave several grunts and 

 dashed off, and I thought he would fall every moment ; but he did not. On going 

 to the place where he had been standing, I found the -400 solid bullet had hit 

 the sapling and gone right through it, hitting the elephant somewhere about the 

 shoulder. There was a slope beyond, down which the elephant went at a tremendous 

 pace. He was soon out of sight, so we took the spoor and followed it for many 

 hours. 



At last the tracks led into a vile piece of unburned grass covered with leaves. 

 Here it was most difficult to spoor him. At one place he had lain down and the tusks 

 showed in the earth. A wounded bull elephant has to be pretty bad before he lies 

 down. However, he had got up and gone off and we soon lost the spoor, and try as 

 we would we could not pick it up again. There was blood on the spoor, but I imagine 



