DISORDER IN THE CAMP. 323 



men returned breathless with excitement to report that 

 they had discovered the two bull elephants browsing in 

 a grove of thorny trees on the mountain side within a 

 quarter of a mile of us. I approached under cover of a 

 bushy tree, on clearing which I beheld two of the finest 

 elephants in Africa standing broadside on within fifty 

 yards. The finer of these had one of his tusks broken 

 short off by the lip ; I therefore chose his comrade, 

 which carried a pair of very long and perfect tusks. I 

 had hard work with this elephant, and the sun was 

 under before I laid him low. 



On the 4th I rode for my bower on the Mahalapia, 

 in the hope of finding my wagons waiting for me ; but 

 I had misgivings about my men, who ought to have 

 appeared on the evening of the 2d. On reaching my 

 bower where the former elephant had died, I found the 

 fires still smoking, but every man had disappeared: 

 Carollus, whom I had ordered to await me, had vanished 

 with the rest. I now fancied that I must have missed 

 the natives who had passed me on their way to the ele- 

 phant of the previous day, and that Carollus had joined 

 the wagons wherever they might be. I was right in 

 my conjecture, and presently, on firing a signal shot, I 

 received an answer from the wagons, which were drawn 

 up in the romantic gorge of Sabie, as near as might be 

 to the water. Drunkenness and disorder had prevailed 

 during my absence, as I had feared ; my chests were 

 broken open, the fine oaptents of both my wagons were 

 most seriously damaged, oxen had been lost, and horses 

 ridden off their legs in search of them. It appeared 

 that Mr. Kleinboy had been the chief delinquent. Un- 

 der the influence of the liquor, and anxious to distin- 

 guish himself, he had resolved to try his hand in hunt- 

 ing the giraffe. Accordingly, he saddled Colesberg, my 



