IX EXCURSIONS FROM EL BOGOI 205 



standing, very sick, with another by her. I finished the former 

 off with a Lee-Metford bullet in the brain, dropping her dead, 

 and knocked over the other alongside of her in a similar way. 

 The latter, though, plunged about, rising partially and falling 

 again several times, while I fired two or three more shots into 

 her head as she swung it about. Then she kept down, but 

 still struggled. There were two half-grown ones, which I had 

 not noticed before, standing by their prostrate friends ; I could 

 not harm them, and, as I wanted to go up to finish securely 

 the second cow, I told Squareface to shout at them. This had 

 the desired effect of making them run away. 



Perhaps I should have gone on in the hope of finding others 

 standing not far off, but it was getting near sundown, and I 

 was tired (my strength not being yet fully returned after my 

 recent spell of illness), and we had left Smiler at the first 

 elephant. So we went back to it, cut out the heart and fat, 

 taking also a piece of the trunk and a foot, and started to 

 make our way out of the bush. By the time we got out (on 

 our own side) it was sundown. We had gone but a few steps 

 along the open, skirting the edge of the forest, when we heard 

 an elephant scream close by, just inside a patch of some of the 

 densest kind of jungle I know of — namely, that matted green 

 growth, such as I have lately described, found in damp, sandy 

 situations where the soil is salt. I do not much like going 

 into these places under such circumstances, but the hopes of 

 another elephant overcame my hesitation, and I entered the 

 dark maze by a narrow path. Then, as I rounded a corner, 

 an elephant, which was just crossing ahead, halted for a 

 moment in the path, and gave me a peep at its shoulder. I 

 aimed quickly for just behind it and fired. It gave a loud 

 grunt as the shot struck it, and plunged into the cover. Then 

 the herd dashed across beyond, making an appalling crashing 

 and cracking as they tore a great road through in their first 

 rush of frenzy, but it was impossible to distinguish any mark 

 in the confused mass, crossing so narrow a gap. We followed 



