REMINISCENCES OF " STALKS." 307 



has penetrated any of the vital parts, he curls up 

 his trunk, and, uttering a faint cry, plunges vio- 

 lently forward, and presently subsides in the dust. 



The report of the gun is the signal for a general 

 and confused rush of the whole herd ; and should 

 they unfortunately come your way, it requires great 

 coolness and self-possession to guard against being 

 trampled to death by the towering masses. They 

 sweep past on these occasions witli the violence of a 

 tornado, carrying havoc and devastation in their path. 



Having described in a general way the manner 

 in which the elephant-hunter usually proceeds when 

 on foot, I will now, for the readers' better under- 

 standing of the subject, relate two or three of my 

 own " stalks " after the noble creature. 



Just prior to leaving a place called Orombola, I 

 took up the spoor of an immense herd of female 

 elephants. A short time before I had, on more 

 than one occasion, been so savagely attacked by 

 cows with calves, that I had my life placed in 

 great jeopardy, and, in consequence, had resolved 

 not again, without adequate cause, to molest troops 

 so constituted ; but in this instance I was induced 

 to depart from my newly-formed resolution, be- 

 cause, amongst the spoors in question, were those 

 of first-rate bulls, whom I hoped to tind by them- 

 selves, or lingering behind the rest. 



The elephants, whose tracks we were now fol- 

 lowing, led us a long chaso. Hour after hour 

 elapsed, miles after miles of weary walking were 

 passed, without the least indication that they would 

 come to a halt. The zeal of the " trackers " be^an 



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