SOUTHERN AFRICA. 1G9 



deliberation fired a volley of five balls into her. She 

 stumbled^ but recovering* herself, uttered a shrill note of 

 lamentation^ when the whole party threw their trunks above 

 their heads, and instantly clambered up the adjacent hill 

 with incredible celerity, their hug'e fan-like ears flapping" 

 in the ratio of their speed. We instantly mounted our 

 horses, and, the sharp loose stones not suiting- the feet of 

 the wounded lady, had soon closed with her. Streaming' 

 with blood, and infuriated with rage, she turned upon us 

 with uphfted trunk, and it was not until after repeated 

 discharg-es, that a ball took eff'ect in her brain, and threw 

 her lifeless on the earth, which resounded with the fall. 



Turning' our attention from the exciting* scene I have 

 described, we found that a second valley had opened upon 

 us, surrounded by bare stony hills, and traversed by a 

 thinly-wooded ravine. Here a gi'and and mag-nificent pano- 

 rama was before us, which beg-g-ars all description. The 

 whole face of the landscape was actually covered with wild 

 elephants. There could not have been fewer than three 

 hundred within the scope of our vision. Every height 

 and gi'een knoll was dotted over with groups of them, 

 whilst the bottom of the g'len exhited a dense and sable 

 livino; mass — their colossal forms beino- at one moment 

 partially concealed by the trees which they were disfiguring' 

 with giant strength ; and at others seen majestically emerg- 

 ing' into the open glades, bearing' in their trunks the branches 

 of trees with which they indolentl}^ protected themselves 

 from the flies. The back-ground was filled by a hmited 

 peep of the blue mountainous range, which here assumed 

 a remarkably precipitous character, and completed a picture 

 at once soul-stu*ring' and sublime ! 



Our approach being' still against the w^ind was unobserved, 

 and created little alarm, until the herd that we had left 

 behind suddenly showed itself, recklessly thundering down 



