94 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



gigantic feet with the utmost caution through 

 the forest. All at once, we heard the curious, 

 rumbling, intestinal noises that betoken the close 

 proximity of elephants, and seeing a large ant-hill 

 some hundred yards away, in the direction of the 

 Luwegu River, my tracker Simba and I stealthily 

 made our way towards it, and on reaching its 

 summit and peering over, we caught sight of five of 

 the herd, grouped beneath a large haekaera tree, all of 

 them, save one, whose tusks were insignificant, 

 facing away from us. Not far from this group, stood 

 two more bulls, one with tusks, which, I roughly 

 computed, were about thirty pounds in weight, the 

 other, absolutely devoid of tusks, while, to the left 

 of the main group, and nearer to us than the others, 

 the remaining elephant, an enormous brute, showing 

 a magnificent tusk projecting from the right side of 

 his head, had taken up his position. This last 

 tusker was evidently the leader, and as he offered 

 such a prize, I decided to try to bag him first, hoping, 

 too, that his fall would throw his companions into 

 wild confusion and give me a better opportunity of 

 securing a few of them. But as the angle at which 

 he stood rendered it impossible for me to place a 

 vital shot, I decided to wait until he presented a 

 more favourable view. I was, of course, afraid to 

 change my own position lest the other elephants 

 should see me and stampede, and I should, with all 



