Chap. XXIII.] SOUTHERN AFRICA. 201 



perpendicular crags, between which the Sant river 

 rushes on its way to join the Lingkling, making a 

 number of very abrupt windings through a most 

 impracticable country, intersected by a succession 

 of rocky acclivities. From the highest peak we saw 

 several herds of buffaloes, and whilst descending 

 came upon the tracks of a huge elephant that had 

 passed about an hour before. This being the largest 

 foot-print we had seen, I had the curiosity to mea- 

 sure it, in order to ascertain the animal's height — 

 twice the circumference of an elephant's foot being, 

 it is notorious, the exact height at the shoulder. It 

 yielded a product of about twelve feet, which, not- 

 withstanding the traditions that have been handed 

 down, I believe to be the maximum height attained 

 by the Afri'can elephant.* We followed the trail 

 across the Sant river, which had now considerably 

 subsided — and finding that it proceeded eastward 

 along the mountain chain, returned to our encamp- 

 ment for horses and ammunition. 



Leaving the waggons to proceed to a spot agreed 

 upon, we again took the field about ten o'clock, and 

 pursued the track indefatigably for eight miles, 

 over a country presenting every variety of feature. 

 At one time we crossed bare stony ridges, at another 

 threaded the intricacies of shady but dilapidated 

 forests; now struggled through high fields of 

 waving grass, and again emerged into open downs. 

 At length we arrived amongst extensive groups of 

 grassy hillocks, covered with loose stones, inter- 

 * Elephas Africanus, Delineated in the African Views. 



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