170 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



accursed elephant-grass. There are lots of ant-hills 

 and low, rocky knolls, and not much thorn. 



The safari was sent off hastily to a convenient place, 

 and we followed the herd in the hope of getting a shot 

 at a good bull. There were a few nice ones of eighty 

 to ninety pounds, but those condemned totos headed me 

 off every time I tried to get near. The little brutes were 

 playing about and chasing one another all round the 

 herd. 



That day was wasted, but next morning we found 

 them again in quite a pleasant place. I got on to a 

 little rocky knoll about thirty feet above the plain, and 

 spent hours watching the herd. It was very interesting. 

 They played, fought, ate, and slept ; but the big ones 

 were always well in the middle, and I couldn't get a 

 chance at one. You know the old traveller's tale that 

 an elephant never lies down from the day he is born 

 until his death. These elephants do, anyway. 



At last they began to move slowly across my front 

 up wind of my little hill. I left it, and crept down 

 to within fifty yards of the nearest elephant, and prayed 

 that a big one who was just behind might come to 

 the edge of the herd. 



He did, and I got a very easy shot at his heart at 

 just the right angle. As usual he went about ten 

 steps and fell. 



The whole herd pushed off up wind with a yell, 

 so did Simba and I in the other direction (but without 

 wasting our breath). They formed up absolutely 

 shoulder to shoulder in line, perfectly dressed, about 

 three hundred yards off, and then came straight back 

 over the place where the dead one lay. There were 

 over two hundred of them, and the ground really did 



