Elephants 



were the very first to leave Fort Jameson for the German 

 border between Lakes Tanganyika and Nyassa, where we 

 arrived before the troops. During the greater part of the 

 German East African campaign I was aigaged in supplying, 

 at that time, the only available meat ration for the native 

 troops and military porters, in the form of many tons of 

 biltong (dried meat of wild game) and under this category 

 came the meat of elephants. 



The rainy season having been the heaviest ever experi- 

 enced in that part of Africa, the Chambezi River which 

 drains the Tanganyika plateau had overflowed its banks 

 and flooded the country far and wide. The flats on either 

 side of the lower part of the river especially had been inun- 

 dated by the flood, the water standing many feet deep in all 

 directions, across miles of open veldt. 



As elephants were reported to be destroying the native 

 crops at a village called Msumpi's on the far side of the flooded 

 area, into this watery wilderness in search of them came my 

 wife and I, Not only was the bush knee-deep in water, 

 but it rained " cats and dogs " most of the time, so it can 

 well be imagined that after crossing the overcharged Chambezi 

 River in dug-out canoes and wading yet another thirty miles 

 beyond, we were thankful to reach the comparatively dry 

 village and to know that we had not been misinformed re- 

 garding the elephants. Our arrival was hailed with delight 

 by the Awemba chief, as the big herd that had located itself 

 in the vicinity of his village, to escape the surrounding flood, 

 was gradually eating up the year's food supply of himself 

 and his men. 



After a day's rest to dry my belongings I took up the 

 spoor of three elephants that had fed in the gardens over 



243 



