THE WORLD'S WONDERS. 325 



to have a distinct view of their mode of hunting. The beast, 

 totally unconscious of the approach of an enemy, stood for some 

 time suckling her young one, which seemed about two years old ; 

 theythen went into a pit containing mud, and smeared themselves 

 all over with it, the little one frisking about his dam, flapping his 

 ears and tossing his trunk incessantly, in elephantine fashion. 

 She kept flapping her ears and wagging her tail, as if in the 

 height of enjoyment. Then began the piping of her enemies, 

 which was performed by blowing into a tube, or the hands closed 

 together, as boys do into a key. They called out to attract the 

 animal's attention, 



" O chief! chief ! we have come to kill you. 

 O chief! chief! many morewilldie besides you, etc. 

 The gods have said it," etc., etc. 



Both animals expanded their ears and listened, then left their 

 bath as the crowd rushed toward them. The little one ran for- 

 ward toward the end of the valley, but, seeing the men there, 

 returned to his dam. She placed herself on the danger side of 

 her calf, and passed her proboscis over it again and again, as if 

 to assure it of safety. She frequently looked back to the men, 

 who kept up an incessant shouting, singing, and piping; then 

 looked at her young one and ran after it, sometimes sideways, as 

 if her feelings were divided between anxiety to protect her off- 

 spring and desire to revenge the temerity of her persecutors. 

 The men kept about a hundred yards in her rear, and some that 

 distance from her flanks, and continued thus until she was obliged 

 to cross a rivulet. The time spent in descending and getting up 

 the opposite bank allowed of their coming up to the edge, and 

 discharging their spears at about twenty yards distance. After 

 the first discharge she appeared with her sides red with blood, 

 and beginning to flee for her own life, seemed to think no more 

 of her young. Livingstone sent word to spare the calf. It ran 

 very fast, but neither young nor old ever enter into a gallop ; 

 their quickest pace is only a sharp walk. Before the messenger 

 could reach them, the calf had taken refuge in the water, and 

 was killed. The pace of the dam gradually became slower. She 



