96 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AERICA ciiAr. v 



my friend had gone in as described ; but not being able to get 

 up to within striking distance of his game at once, had sat 

 down to chew tobacco, putting his weapons down beside him. 

 In taking them up again as he rose, one of the excessively 

 sharp points scratched his leg, with the result that he was 

 unable to leave the spot and died right away. 



Perhaps I cannot do better than quote the account of my 

 first success, after this long spell of bad luck, from my diary as 

 entered at the time. I had moved from my standing camp to 

 a temporary one near to the part of the bush where the 

 elephants were reported to be then. " Ndorobo elephant- 

 hunter came early and said a herd of elephants was in the 

 bush. I went with him soon after sunrise towards the foot of 

 the range, where dense bush extends with hardly any break 

 for miles. Before long w-e came on lots of quite fresh spoor ; 

 but, before following in the direction the elephants had taken, 

 we worked round to leeward, and then struck in. My guide 

 kept frequently taking up dust from the ground and letting it 

 trickle out of his fingers to test the air-currents, though for my 

 own part I prefer to be ' still plucking the grass to try where 

 sits the wind,' dry grass crumbled in the hand being more 

 sensitive to the slightest breath. We soon heard the elephants 

 making their curious sounds, and again came on warm spoor, 

 which we followed carefully. After following only a very 

 short way, the solemn intestinal rumblings were heard, which 

 so often give warning that the game is close ahead though still 

 hidden by the thick bush. I stole on (having left my surplus 

 followers), till the Ndorobo gave place to me to pass him. 

 The bush, though a dense thorny scrub, is cut up by the 

 elephants' paths into a check pattern. Rounding a corner I 

 came in view of three elephants only a few yards away standing 

 in a little bare space. The nearest (a large one) had its stern 

 to me, and seemed to be amusing itself by picking up dust to 

 throw over its back. Two others stood opposite, sideways on ; 

 one a small one with little ivory, the other a large fellow but 



