HUNTING THE ELEPHANT 167 



track twenty feet across is left behind where the grass 

 is beaten flat. On this occasion we found a broaid, 

 beaten track leading through 'the dense jungle to a 

 little swamp a few hundred yards away. We followed 

 breathlessly, and soon could hear these great denizens 

 of the wilds smashing down branches from the trees 

 and the unmistakable rumblings of the stomach of a 

 well-nurtured elephant. I crept slowly forward, fol- 

 lowed close behind by my gun-bearer, and we soon 

 found ourselves floundering about in the thick mud 

 and water in which the elephants had bathed. There 

 was a dense wood in the little valley, and into this 

 they had pushed their way, and we followed in their 

 tracks, all excitement and expectation. 



Now we found that the wind was, alas ! behind us, 

 and this meant that very soon our presence would be 

 known to these sagacious beasts, which rely almost 

 entirely upon their sense of smell, and not upon their 

 eyesight, which at the best is imperfect. So I changed 

 my course, and making a long detour to the left, 

 scrambling along through the thick mud and water, 

 creeping under the trunks of fallen trees, and making 

 as little noise as possible, we at last got right to 

 the other side of the herd, with the slight wind puffing] 

 in our faces. 



This was all we required, for we now found that 

 we could get up quite close without being observed, 

 although the huge beasts were mostly facing us. It 

 now required a little common pluck to pull oneself 

 together and pick out the biggest tusker, for this neces- 

 sitated standing right up in full view of the whole 

 herd. It truly seemed impossible that one should be 

 unobserved, for I now stood within fifteen yards of 



