The Eastern Congo 



eat up the natives' gardens so that the natives starve ; 

 they help to breed and feed tsetse fly, from the bite of which 

 your cattle have died ; they are utterly useless animals and 

 retard the advance of civilisation ! " 



These things occurred to me like a flash, but Moderation 

 and the Ring-fence won ; besides, the job was a big under- 

 taking for one man. I set myself therefore the task of 

 slaying those bulls carrying the best ivory, of which there 

 were three. The biggest of these was at that moment heaving 

 himself free from the grip of the bog beneath on to a group 

 of low ant-hills forming an island, and directly facing me, 

 at a distance of some twenty-five yards. A younger bull, not 

 handicapped with so much weight but having a fine long pair 

 of tusks, had already reached this spot and, apparently 

 undecided what to do next, stood watching the mass of his 

 female companions and calves in their endeavour to clear 

 the marsh. Yet a third tusker, having pushed his weaker 

 brethren aside, was slowly but surely ploughing through the 

 foaming mud and water to the haven already reached by 

 his companions, followed by a line of half-submerged females 

 and young. 



The psychological moment to open fire had now arrived, 

 so raising my magazine rifle I fired at the shoulder of the 

 biggest bull, following this up with several other bullets in 

 quick succession. The excitement and noise at this juncture 

 was something to remember ! At my third or fourth shot 

 the wounded bull let forth a resounding trumpet and, turning 

 in my direction, charged out at me, in spite of the bullet 

 I planted in his face. Seeing me, however, standing in the 

 water and knowing the ground would not hold him, he 

 slewed round, offering his shoulder for another bullet as he 



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