WE MARCH FOR THE MOUNTAINS 191 



that they were feeding quietly and without the 

 slightest evidence of uneasiness. 



We left our horses and the porters under a big 

 tree and told the latter to come on if they heard 

 any firing ; otherwise, they were to await our return. 

 Then, with only our gunbearers and a man carry- 

 ing Akeley's large camera, we circled in a wide 

 detour until we were safely behind the elephants. 

 The wind continued favorable, and we cautiously 

 approached the brow of a hill near where we had 

 last seen them. They had disappeared, but their 

 trail was as easy to follow as an open road. Before 

 reaching the brow of the next hill one of the gun- 

 bearers was sent up a tree to reconnoiter the coun- 

 try beyond. 



"Hapa" he whispered, as he carefully climbed 

 down and indicated with his hand that they were 

 near. Again we swung in a wide circle and came 

 over the brow of the next hill. There, four or 

 five hundred yards away, was the herd of elephants, 

 standing idly under the low trees that studded the 

 opposite slope. There were between forty and 

 fifty of them, and from the number of totos, or 

 calves, we assumed that many of the big ones were 

 cows. We studied the herd for some minutes, esti- 

 mating the ivory and trying in vain to pick out the 

 bulls. There is very little difference between the 

 appearance of a cow and a bull elephant when the 

 latter has only moderate-sized tusks. Usually the 

 tusks of the male are heavier and thicker, but except 

 for this distinction there is very little noticeable dif- 



