HUNTING AND HUNTED IN BELGIAN CONGO 



headway, which would have been impossible had we been 

 hampered with the whole safari. Two hours later we 

 came on the tracks of what must have been a fairly large 

 herd, and upon examining the grass it was evident that 

 it had only been trodden down within the last few hours. 

 There were several distinct paths, one of which measured 

 just over seventeen inches in width. Fortunately the 

 grass was not more than three feet high. Following up 

 the spoor we wound among the trees and bushes, and 

 presently came to a small pool around the edges of which 

 our quarry had left impressions in the soft clay soil. The 

 water was thick and muddy, and some distance beyond the 

 pool we noticed a number of twigs freshly broken from the 

 trees together with several uprooted plants lying about 

 the path. Presently Matakanga and the villager Oshelese 

 stopped dead and took shelter behind a clump of bushes. 

 Coming up to them I peered through the branches and 

 leaves and saw, not more than a hundred yards ahead, 

 nine elephants bunched together grazing and snapping 

 twigs off tree and bush : even as I gazed, one of them on 

 the far side put up its trunk and brought down a huge 

 branch off the tree close by. There appeared to be only 

 one decent-sized brute among them, and he was in the 

 centre. We crouched down and waited to obtain a 

 better view of them. I could not see the head of the large 

 animal, but the others seemed to be all females. In a 

 few minutes they opened out : yes, the large one was a 

 bull. I could now see his tusks gleaming white in the 

 sun as he swung round almost facing me. Resting the 

 •450 on a friendly bough, I waited until a chance offered 

 for the heart shot. The huge ears which were flapping 

 idly made it difficult for me to gauge where to fire for the 

 brain, so I determined on the heart. Bang ! went my 

 right barrel, the huge beast stumbled, but recovered 

 itself, the others cleared away in a flash, with ears spread 

 out and trunks raised high. The bull swung round a 



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