ELEPHANT 199 



He is the very last man who should be encouraged to have 

 any dealings with the native. 



So far as I could learn, the two small bands of Cheran- 

 gang N'dorobo, kill about one or two elephants to each band 

 yearly. The Elgao perhaps as many more. Some of the 

 old men tell me they have killed forty. This is probably 

 an outside number. 



H. and I had determined to try and make our way into 

 a new country, not a very extensive one, still a region so 

 guarded by river and swamp that our N'dorobo declared, 

 and we believed truly, no rifle shot had been heard within 

 it for ages. They declared that when the herds were 

 chased off the Nzoia plateau, they went to this place and 

 stayed there or near by for a long time. There they would 

 show us elephant "like the grass" a term they always 

 use when they speak of large numbers. 



We had had two very hard and unavailing "follow up" 

 rides. On each day we must have covered not less than 

 thirty-five miles, and this is enough for a day's going under 

 an equatorial sun. One day the herd separated, and on 

 hard ground we lost them. On the second, a fine herd 

 headed straight for where J. J. W. and his hunter were 

 waiting for them, so once we had assured ourselves of where 

 they were going, we turned away from a fresh spoor. We 

 had our difficulties to overcome, of course; we expected as 

 much, the heavy work falling on H., my weak knee 

 rendering it difficult for me to do more than look after 

 myself. I could not swim, for fear of putting it out again, 

 but we managed to flounder through somehow. Here let 

 me say a word about what you can and cannot get natives 

 to do for you, when you are in a difficult country. They 

 know the country well so much is a matter of course. 

 But though they do, once they find themselves in the com- 

 pany of the "bwana" (white master) nothing seems to induce 

 them to take the initiative. Is there a bad swamp to be 



