V NDOROBO ELEPHANT-HUNTING 109 



no botanist, I do not know what it really is ; but I call it 

 vegetable bayonets. It is just like a bunch of green bayonets 

 springing out of the ground, with points as sharp as real ones 

 and capable of giving most painful wounds to any one who 

 unwarily runs against one slanting towards him. The bush is 

 full of this plant, and the elephants chew it and reject the fibre ; 

 consequently the ground in their haunts is often strewn with it, 

 more or less dry according to the time that has elapsed since 

 its juice was partaken of. When it is green and moist, and 

 smells quite sweet, it is freshly chewed ; after a little exposure 

 it gets sour. The fibre of this plant is very strong, and makes 

 excellent cord or rope. I have often thought that it might be 

 turned to profitable account in places where it grows in great 

 profusion near enough to the coast, as, for instance, on the 

 Sabaki River. 



On reaching the edge of the broad, nearly level vallej-, we 

 ascended a little prominence to get a view over it. A good 

 deal of this scrub is not very high, so that if one can get on to 

 a rise, or even sometimes into a tall tree (though such are not 

 many in this kind of cover), and look down upon the jungle, it 

 is often possible to see the tops of elephants' heads and backs, 

 which the owners make more conspicuous by throwing dust 

 from the red ground over them. Sometimes, even though the 

 animals themselves may be invisible, a little cloud of red dust 

 may every now and then be seen, like a puff of smoke, issuing 

 from the bush. In the present instance we were inspired with 

 hope by making out the raddled heads and slowly flapping 

 enormous ears of two big bulls in the jungle across b}' the valley. 

 Worming our way down through the dense thicket, we crossed 

 the little stream and followed up a little dry gully on the other 

 side, near which, farther up, one of the elephants (they were 

 some distance apart) was standing. I got up to him beautifully, 

 without his knowing of my approach, as he stood fanning 

 himself with his windmill sails, as is their wont when resting. 

 I got a nice shot at his side at close quarters ; but, owing to 



