vin EXCURSIONS FROM EL BOGOf 187 



green. As I paused, some of the elephants moved nearer to 

 me in the shallow, sandy stream, drinking and playing with the 

 water. One pair, a cow and a large bull, were evidently 

 making love. The bull fondled his mate with his trunk, and 

 then, standing side by side, they crossed trunks and put the 

 tips into each other's mouths ; an undoubted elephantine kiss. 

 This rather put me off, and I hesitated so long that my gun- 

 bearer crept up to my elbow, as I crouched behind a tree, and 

 whispered, " Bwana, pika " (Master, strike). Indeed, that was 

 what I had come for ; and since I had left the coast (between 

 three and four months ago), I had had no success until now. 

 I was about fifty yards from those nearest me, and, though the 

 ground was quite open between, I daresay I might have got 

 nearer, but some of the elephants were now moving into the 

 dense bush across the stream, so I singled out a bull with 

 beautifully symmetrical and fairly long, though not massive, 

 tusks, and fired at him with my heavy rifle, aiming just behind 

 the shoulder. At the shot he started off, throwing a quantity 

 of water out of his mouth, and I gave him the second barrel 

 before he reached the cover, both, as I thought, about the right 

 spot. Then, seizing the magazine rifle, I gave another elephant 

 a shot just as it was entering the bush. By this time all but 

 one cow had disappeared into the opposite jungle ; she stood 

 some distance off on the far bank, apparently undecided what 

 to do. Though a longer range than I had ever shot an 

 elephant at before, I gave her a bullet (Lee-Metford) about the 

 shoulder-joint ; she staggered, and a second laid her low. 



I will not attempt to give a detailed account of all the 

 incidents of this exciting afternoon's work. I could not 

 remember every particular, even the day after, when I made 

 my entry for this great day in my diary ; moreover, I don't 

 think it would be worth while to put each one down if I could. 

 I had, however, one adventure, which I must describe, that can 

 only be called miraculous ; though whether or not it was what 

 can be classed as " a narrow escape " (a thing I do not care to 



