A STAMPEDE OF ELEPHANTS 



great sentinels watching over the country. On the slopes 

 below one could discern between the trees massive 

 boulders that stood on commanding ledges, lending an 

 additional feature to the romantic aspect of the sur- 

 rounding landscape. 



As we had provided ourselves with all the maps of 

 the country obtainable we proceeded to take our bearings 

 from this lofty position, while the natives with us looked 

 out across the great expanse of grass and trees, with one 

 hand shading their eyes and in the other a long spear or 

 bow and a handful of arrows, muscles drawn taut and 

 sinews standing out, with nodding headgear of grass or 

 feathers mounted in a ring of hardwood. One fellow 

 pointed to a spot certainly ten miles away, and after 

 hurried talking he softly and silently led the way down 

 the path, followed by three more of his people and 

 Savarkaki, who was instructed to see that the tracks 

 were worth following before returning to us. 



For some time we could see the party in single file 

 on their march to the Kibi country through the long 

 grass. The maps were less to be relied upon at this spot 

 than further back, and it was plain that from them we 

 could hope for little assistance. Some places marked 

 in large letters do not even exist. This careless carto- 

 graphy is typical of a skeleton administration that has 

 bluffed the world with maps of the country showing 

 settlements and stations that are not there ! 



Of the march across country to the Aka district and 

 the Kibali there is little of note to relate, though the 

 people themselves are interesting, and there were 

 numerous unimportant incidents on the downward 



journey, to the time of my leaving P just east of 



Vankerckhovenville. A great many observations and 

 items of interest were lost later on in my encounter with 

 the natives, who rifled the chop box and bore away my 

 diaries, leaving me with only a few odd pages, which in 



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