8 FOX-HOUND, FOREST, AND PRAIRIE. 



were scattered in all directions. Of course we had to give up 

 all idea of watching now, and as it was impossible to return 

 through the jungle in the dark, made up our minds to camp 

 out. It took us an hour to make a fire, for, though I had a 

 flint and steel for my pipe, we could not manage to raise a 

 flame. At last a bright idea struck me — I tore the pockets out 

 of my unmentionables, and, sprinkling a little powder on the 

 rag, applied it to the tinder, and all three blowing at once Ave 

 managed to get a blaze. 



We were now pretty comfortable, for I had some cold venison 

 and biscuit, and a flask of brandy in my pocket, and the guide 

 had a lot of rice, so we did not go supperless to bed. Expect- 

 ing, too, to be out all night, and knowing the swampy nature of 

 the ground, I had brought with me a change of clothes and a 

 mackintosh ; so that, if the mosquitoes had not been so un- 

 remitting in their 'attentions, I should really have enjoyed the 

 novelty of the thing. The next morning Tuanko appeared, and 

 we went over a good deal of ground, in hopes of coming across 

 some of the elephants of the night before, which we had heard 

 trumpeting occasionally till about the middle of the night. We 

 heard a tiger roaring in the jungle at no great distance from us, 

 which Tuanko, imitating the sound wonderfully, drew to within 

 thirty yards ; but he must have scented us, for he could not be 

 persuaded to show himself, and at last retired without giving us 

 a chance of making further acquaintance with him. 



We worked hard for the next five days without getting a 

 shot, and only seeing an odd pig or deer now and then ; but on 

 Saturday, Sept. 16, we had our best day. Leaving the tong- 

 kong between six and seven in the morning, we landed at a 

 small village, but hearing that elephants had not been seen for 

 three days, had but small hopes of finding them. We struck 

 straight away from the river, through a dense jungle, for about 

 three-quarters of an hour, when we came into a rather more 

 open forest. Proceeding through this for another half-hour, we 

 suddenly heard a kind of low rumbling noise to our left, which 

 we at length made out to be elephants, and moving in the 



