270 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



On the night of the mishap, one of my men 

 killed the puff adder that had caused the trouble 

 and eventually presented the skin to Malingum, 

 who, in a spirit of sardonic humour, fashioned it 

 into a belt, saying : 



' You tried to kill me and now I shall revenge 

 myself by making use of your old hide ! ' 



A few days after this episode, while we were in 

 pursuit of three elephants, a peculiar incident 

 occurred. The largest of the three, whose tusks 

 were below the average, only weighing 46 and 48 

 Ibs., each, I shot with comparative ease ; the other 

 two, being young bulls with quite insignificant 

 tusks, I left severely alone. Scared by my first 

 shot, however, they had bolted, and doubling back 

 on the spoor, met my carriers who were following 

 me at a distance of about a mile. Being in a 

 dangerous mood, one of these bulls, on seeing my 

 men, charged them furiously and they, dropping 

 their loads with fright, scattered in all directions. 

 Two of the party, who had been carrying an empty 

 maschilla, slightly in advance of the others, were the 

 first to discard their burden and flee for dear life, 

 and the infuriated elephant, catching sight of this 

 object lying in the path of his pursuit, angrily 

 grabbed it and began wreaking his vengeance on it 

 as he bore it along. This operation he performed 

 to his thorough satisfaction tearing the canvas to 



