1 88 THE LAND OF THE LION 



unaccountable things, and sportsmen who have been thus 

 favoured by them, have often been known to say that ele- 

 phant hunting is a simple matter. But ask the men who 

 know. Read such a book as poor Newman's, who was the 

 greatest elephant hunter East Africa has ever seen, and all 

 say the same thing. No sport is so arduous as elephant 

 hunting, perhaps none is so dangerous, though I think there 

 is little doubt that, for the relative numbers of elephant and 

 lions killed, the latter take a larger roll of human life. 



The denser forest country of the Protectorate holds still 

 a very large number of elephant, but from its very nature, 

 it is of little use trying to shoot them within it. The breeze 

 is too uncertain, a silent approach impossible, and a resolute 

 following up of the wounded out of the question. Hoey 

 has spent months trying to kill some of the very large bulls 

 that bury themselves in the dense tangles of the Elgao woods 

 to east of our plateau. He has secured just one, and that 

 one came out into the open one August evening. 



There is another element of danger besides the elephants 

 themselves that attends forest hunting in these regions. 

 It is the game pit. Now game pits, even in the open veldt, 

 are bad enough. They are so cunningly concealed that 

 an observant man may fall into them and be quite seriously 

 hurt three of my men did so this trip. But when 

 these deadly death traps are set in densest wood, con- 

 cealed by creepers and heavy shade trees, armed too, let it 

 be remembered, in many cases with sharp stakes set so as to 

 impale any unfortunate that falls in, then commonest 

 prudence will avoid following game where they are known 

 to be used. 



Chatting by the camp fire two nights ago, we were 

 discussing the likelihood of securing a good buffalo head 

 in the lower ranges of the Cherangang to the east. The old 

 chief of the Cherangang N'dorobo, who accompanies us 

 on our trip, listened for a time, and then said: "Yes, there 



