5 2 After Big Game in Central Africa 



general until the fine season. The heavy rainy 

 season in the midst of the jungle is very toilsome, 

 and one must truly have a passion for hunting to 

 support the difficulties which result. With Bertrand 

 we have always preserved our good spirits ; and I 

 owe to that courageous companion, who lived this 

 painful existence only through friendship for me 

 (being no hunter himself), a good part of the happy 

 life which I have had during the years of which these 

 hunting expeditions have made up a large portion. 



I return now to the morning of our departure. 

 As soon as it is daylight I and my men leave the 

 camp, accompanied by the additional bearers, who- 

 are to follow us at a distance. We go in the 

 direction in which the elephants had made themselves 

 heard on the previous evening, and about an hour 

 afterwards the fresh track of five elephants is dis- 

 covered. We follow them, and this brings us into 

 the neighbourhood of the spot the buffaloes were 

 a few days before. According to every appear- 

 ance there are only females in the herd, and they 

 are travelling without hurrying themselves but in 

 Indian file, which shows that they are not eating. 

 Probably they will stop a little later, unless they 

 fed at night, in which case they may lead us a long 

 way. About eight o'clock the rain stops, the sun 

 appears, soon drying the grass, and the heat begins. I 

 have said already that we are in the height of summer; 

 the sun is at its zenith at this time of the year, and 

 when its rays beat down we feel their heat very much 

 a very fortunate circumstance, because elephants- 



