544 WILD SCENES AND WILD HUNTERS. 
late. With open eyes and quivering lips he at length stuttered 
forth— 
“ Dar stand de olifant!” 
Mohanycom and Lingap were immediately dispatched to 
drive the herd back into the valley, up which we rode slowly 
and without noise, against the wind; and arriving within one 
hundred and fifty yards unperceived, we made our horses 
fast, and took up a commanding position in an old stone 
kraal. The shouting of the savages, who now appeared on 
the height, rattling their shields, caused the animals to move 
unsuspiciously towards us, and even within ten yards of our 
ambush. The group consisted of nine, all females, with large 
tusks. We selected the finest, and with perfect deliberation, 
fired a volley of five balls into her. She stumbled, but 
recovering herself, uttered a shrill note of lamentation, when 
the whole party threw their trunks above their heads, and 
instantly clambered up the adjacent hill with incredible 
celerity, their huge fan-like ears flapping in the ratio of 
their speed. We instantly mounted our horses, the sharp 
loose stones not suiting the feet of the wounded lady, soon 
closed with her. Streaming with blood, and infuriated with 
rage, she turned upon us with uplifted trunk, and it was not 
until after repeated discharges, that a ball took effect in her 
brain, and threw her lifeless upon the earth, which resounded 
with the fall. 
Turning our attention from the exciting scene we have 
described, we found that a second valley had opened before 
us, surrounded by bare strong hills, and traversed by a thinly 
wooded ravine. Here a grand and magnificent panorama 
was before us, which beggars all description. The whole 
face of the landscape was actually covered with wild elephants. 
There could not have been fewer than three hundred within 
the scope of our vision. Every height and green knoll was 
dotted pver with groups of them, whilst the bottom of the 
