12 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ' CH. 



you must be constantly on the alert, for at any 

 moment he may be upon you with one swift dash, 

 sometimes screaming, but usually without uttering 

 a warning sound, and these are the moments which 

 call up every ounce of will, resource, swiftness 

 and coolness of which your nature is capable. If 

 you are deficient in any of these, it would be 

 advisable to bid adieu to your friends before 

 tracking up a wounded elephant. 



Often the pursuit of a wounded or shy tusker 

 entails extreme hardship, for, as I have narrated 

 elsewhere, food and water may run out. In case 

 of thirst, it is useful to know that sugar affords 

 considerable relief, and I have found that when 

 my men are feeling the strain of a forced march, 

 there is no restorative to equal a mixture of sugar 

 and cocoa. 



Sometimes, if elephants are plentiful, I am from 

 ten days to three weeks or more away from my 

 main camp ; and after such a period of absence, 

 I am generally glad to return, for, unless a man 

 wishes to give way under the strain, he must rest 

 and recuperate at intervals. On these prolonged 

 hunts, when we have had a decent bag, I send my 

 carriers back with the ivory to our main camp, and 

 being tired by their arduous work, they stay there, 

 and a fresh relay of men comes out and joins me. 



Then, when we have had our fill of sport, and 



