UGANDA, AND THE XYAXZA LAKES 443 



all bushbuck, were of small size compared to the old rams. 

 These bushbuck were found in tall grass, where the ground 

 was wet, instead of in the thick bush where their East 

 African kinsfolk spend the daytime. 



At the bushbuck camp we met a number of porters 

 returning from the Congo, where they had been with an 

 elephant poacher named Busherri at least that was as 

 near the name as we could make out. He had gone into 

 the Congo to get ivory, by shooting and trading; but the 

 wild forest people had attacked him, and had killed him 

 and seven of his followers, and the others were straggling 

 homeward. In Kampalla we had met an elephant hunter 

 named Quin who had recently lost his right arm in an 

 encounter with a wounded tusker. Near one camp the 

 head chief pointed out two places, now overgrown with 

 jungle, where little villages had stood less than a year be- 

 fore. In each case elephants had taken to feeding at night 

 in the shambas, and had steadily grown bolder and bolder 

 until the natives, their crops ruined by the depredations 

 and their lives in danger, had abandoned the struggle, and 

 shifted to some new place in the wilderness. 



We were soon to meet elephant ourselves. The morn- 

 ing of the 28th was rainy; we struck camp rather late, 

 and the march was long, so that it was mid-afternoon when 

 Kermit and I reached our new camping place. Soon 

 afterward word was brought us that some elephants were 

 near by; we were told that the beasts were in the habit of 

 devastating the shambas, and were bold and truculent, hav- 

 ing killed a man who had tried to interfere with them. 

 Kermit and I at once started after them, just as the last of 

 the safari came in, accompanied by Cuninghame, who 

 could not go with us as he was recovering from a bout of 

 fever. 



In half an hour we came on fresh sign, and began to 

 work cautiously along it. Our guide, a wild-looking savage 

 with a blunt spear, went first, followed by my gun-bearer, 

 Kongoni, who is excellent on spoor; then I came, followed 



