28 Wild Beasts 



fact that " the elephant has an antipathy towards a horse." 

 "A solitary traveller is perfectly safe while mounted " he 

 remarks. To the best of the author's knowledge and 

 belief, the fact is directly the other way. Horses, until 

 accustomed to their sight and odor, fear elephants, but 

 the latter care nothing about them. They have never 

 been known to hesitate in attacking hunters in the sad- 

 dle. The Hamran and Baggara Arabs on the Upper 

 Nile and its tributaries nearly always meet them in this 

 manner. The only weapon used by these aggageers, or 

 sword-hunters, is a long, heavy, sharp, double-edged 

 Solingen blade. Three men generally hunt together, and 

 their method of procedure shows how well they know 

 the elephant's character. 



Having found the fresh spoor of an old bull whose 

 tusks are presumably worth winning, they track it to 

 its resting or feeding place, and approach with no other 

 precaution than is necessary to keep their quarry from 

 taking refuge in some mimosa thicket where their swords 

 cannot be used. When possible, the animal, who appre- 

 ciates the situation perfectly, and knows all about sword- 

 hunters, always makes itself safe in that way. If no 

 cover is within reach, the elephant backs up against a 

 rock, a clump of bushes, bank, or anything that will 

 guard it in the rear, and awaits its enemies with that 

 peculiarly devilish expression of countenance an elephant 

 wears when murderously inclined. Supposing the agga- 

 geers to be three in number, and mounted, two of them 

 close slowly in upon his flanks, while the third the 

 lightest weight, on the most active and best broken 



