176 THE ELEPHANT. 



and if I deferred for an instant, botli I and my 

 companion would be thrown down and trampled under 

 foot. I hastened to aim at the temple, and the blow 

 not proving mortal, the whole band took flight, and 

 hurried oil to the open country more quickly than 

 they came. As, therefore, I could not separate one 

 of the wounded elephants, I gave in, for it seemed 

 to me cruel to hit others in pure sport. On reflection, 

 I thought that I ought to have used more powder ; 

 the small size of these animals, compared with the 

 Indian elephants, had deceived me, and I had loaded 

 my gun as if for rhinoceros shooting." 



IX. 



THE same kind of traps is used in South Africa as 

 in Asia. They cover them very cleverly with branches ; 

 but old elephants, at the head of a band, have been 

 known to remove the covering from the pits ; and 

 Livingstone says that he has seen them drawing 

 young ones from the pit, into which they had fallen. 



Travellers also sometimes fall into them ; Le Vail- 

 lant, for example, who, by means of repeatedly firing 

 his gun, at last attracted the attention of his people, 

 who delivered him. 



M. du Chaillu met with the same adventure amongst 

 the Apingis. The pit was ten feet deep, and it was 

 night. 



