XVI.] SIGHTING AN ELEPHANT. 205 



a flat stone, she gave it a blow with her fist, to form a hollow in April, 

 the middle, and Avorked it roughly into a shape with her hands, ^^'^^- 

 keeping them constantly wet. She then smoothed out the fin- 

 ger-marks with a corn-cob, and i:)olished the pot with pieces of 

 gourd and wood — the gourd giving it the proper curves — finally 

 ornamenting it with a sharp-pointed stick. 



I went to examine this work, wondering how it would be 

 taken off the stone and the bottom shaped, and found that no 

 bottom had yet been formed. But after the vessel had been 

 drying four or five hours in a shady place, it was sufficiently 

 stiff to be handled carefully, and a bottom was then worked in. 



From beginning to pound the clay till the pot — holding 

 about three, gallons — was put aside to dry occupied thirty-five 

 minutes, and providing it with a bottom might take ten min- 

 utes more. The shapes are very graceful, and wonderfully 

 truly formed, many being like the amphora in Villa Diomed 

 at Pompeii. 



Soon after leaving camp, we passed the mouth of the Lu- 

 guvu, a considerable stream with a good current, discoloring 

 the water a great distance from its mouth ; and there were 

 numerous small land-slips, and water oozing from the sides of 

 the hills. 



This exceptional day's work had, according to the men's 

 statement, quite exhausted them ; so I camped early at a spot 

 evidently much resorted to by elephants, some of the trees 

 being quite polished, from their rubbing themselves against 

 them after bathing. And while running along under sail close 

 to the shore, we sighted an elephant on the beach, having evi- 

 dently come down to bathe. I loaded my rifle with hardened 

 bullets, and ordered all the men to get below the gunwale and 

 keep silence, leaving a man asleep on the forecastle, because I 

 was afraid he would make some noise if aroused. But before 

 we got within range, this fellow most provokingly awoke, and, 

 catching sight of the elephant, yelled out, at the top of his 

 voice, " Tembo, bwana !" (Elephant, master !), and away went the 

 tembo into the jungle, flapping his big ears like a rabbit bolt- 

 ing into his burrow. 



There was very heavy thunder during the night, and the 

 echoes exceeded any thing I have ever heard. 



