Cutting up the Elephant. 63 



tusks, in their canvas wrapping, were deposited in the 

 African Lakes Corporation store, there was an instant use 

 of handkerchiefs by the employees, and I was asked if I did 

 not think it horrible. All I could reply was that I had been 

 sleeping every night for over a week in very close proximity 

 to a much worse smell, and surely the slight aroma of the 

 canvas sacking was a very meagre odour and not worth 

 worrying about. 



When the sun began to sink low I took my rifle and went 

 for a lonely stroll down the dambo, but the only game I saw 

 were two reedbuck which cleared off quickly. 



On getting back to the elephant the stomach had just been 

 opened, and the bad air and a lot of filth came out with a 

 series of shrieks, for all the world just like a boiler letting 

 off steam in jerks. 



Some of the natives had cut themselves, and I had the 

 pleasure of bandaging some bad gashes. If a native cuts 

 himself when cutting up game he will often rub the injury 

 with fresh dung, and they often put cowdung on bad sores 

 and ulcers. The consequence is that, instead of doing 

 them any good, they make their sores much worse, and I 

 have seen some ugly ulcers simply caused by carelessness 

 in not keeping the first injuries clean and covered. 



Night soon falls in the tropics, and the camp presented a 

 lively sight with the many camp fires and the constant 

 chattering of the natives, who were revelling in abundance 

 of meat, and lumps of fat cut from the inside of the elephant. 



About 8 p.m. the hyaenas began to howl, and by mid- 

 night the noise was deafening. The small fire I had made 

 in front of my tent soon went out, but the elephant enclosure 

 was bright with many fires ; so the hyaenas paraded within a 

 few paces of the tent, and I could not sleep, as their shrieks 

 and howls, intermingled with melancholy, disappointed 

 groans, were continued all night. 



People who have not heard a number of hyaenas collected 

 round meat have no idea what weird noises they can make, 

 and these are always intensified when the animals cannot 

 get at what they are longing for. 





