174 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA chai'. 



away while any of the giraffe meat remained ; but, true 

 enough, they turned up as promised. They told me that 

 there were lots of elephants on the Barasaloi, and down the 

 Seya towards El Gereh. This sounded hopeful ; besides, I 

 wanted to go and see the country in that direction, so I at 

 once returned to my head camp and set about making 

 preparations for an excursion of some length, being only 

 too glad to get away from where I had wasted so much time 

 fruitlessly. 



I may mention, in passing, that one night before I returned 

 to my main camp, about 2 A.M., a rhinoceros (probably there 

 were a pair) was making the most curious noises near us, which 

 I described in my diary as "just such exaggerated gruntings 

 and bass squeakings as one might expect from a magnified 

 pig." I had heard bubbling noises before, but not in combina- 

 tion with the other piggish sounds. I suppose this rhino 

 must have been love-making. 



That these blank days have been uninteresting to my 

 reader I make no doubt. I can only say, so were they to me : 

 but, as my object is to give a true account of elephant-hunting, 

 the many weary days of disappointment cannot be altogether 

 left out. But I was soon to have compensation for this bad 

 luck. 



After spending more than a fortnight, since my arrival at 

 El Bogoi, as described, without any success, I started again 

 from my camp there on 27th August 1895, taking my usual 

 hunting outfit and two donkeys carrying food for my men, two 

 or three young Ndorobo natives accompanying us as guides. 

 Our direction was now east-north-east. We camped that day 

 at a good-sized " kurunga " or rock pool, in high open country, 

 having emerged, after several hours' tramp, from the thick bush. 

 We did not see much game, but a good deal of spoor of 

 rhinoceros, zebra, etc. The next morning we soon came to the 

 edge of a pretty deep valley, through which we could see the 

 little river Seya winding with patches of green jungle and 



