THE ADVENTURES OF AN 

 ELEPHANT HUNTER 



CHAPTER I 



THE HUNTER'S LIFE 



BEFORE dawn I am awakened by the joyful 

 singing of the birds in the forest, and, as I lie, I 

 may occasionally hear the loud snort of a buffalo, 

 the screeching, gossiping chatter of monkeys, or 

 the loud booming woof-woof of the lion, which 

 like an evil dream, seems to lose some of its 

 sinister impressiveness at the approach of day. 

 I am probably about to doze off once more, 

 when my boy brings me a steaming cup of 

 delicious cocoa not the brick-dust and water 

 concoction so often met with but a beverage 

 made with boiled milk and flavoured with a 

 suspicion of vanilla. Immediately afterwards, I 

 spring from my camp-bed, fill my lungs with 

 air, and picking up my dumb-bells, go through a 



B 



