ESCAPE OF A HERD OF ELEPHANTS. 85 



rook of all shapes and sizes, thrown loosely together 

 in some places, and in others piled high one above an- 

 other, as if by the hand of some giant. All the ground 

 and rook about the fountain were covered with a layer 

 of elephants' dung about a foot deep. We had pro- 

 ceeded about half way up the valley when we heard 

 elephants trumpeting ahead of us : it was a very fine 

 troop of cows. There was one cow in the troop larger, 

 [ think, than any I had ever before seen. On this occa- 

 sion I was extremely unfortunate. I began by sending 

 two balls into the shoulder of the fine cow just as they 

 were charging into a dense cover of wait-a-bits. The 

 dogs took after two calves, which I was obliged to 

 shoot; the natives, in attempting to assagai them, kill- 

 ed Bluma and wounded Alert in the loin. The ele- 

 phants were hiding in the thorns, and no man knew or 

 seemed to care where they were. At this moment we 

 beheld another fine troop of cow elephants going along 

 the wooded mountain side opposite to us. I immedi- 

 ately made for them, and had the mortification to see 

 them gain a neck in the mountain just above my head 

 as I got within two hundred yards of them. I now re- 

 turned to the thorny cover, where we found the cows 

 concealed. The natives eventually drove them out on 

 the ,wrong side of the cover without warning me, and, 

 -to my extreme vexation, this troop of cows got away 

 without my killing one. I was extremely sorry to lose 

 the large cow elephant : she carried a, pair of most beau- 

 tiful and perfect teeth. . I slept near the fountain, where 

 T picked up a piece of a tooth of a cow elephant. 



On the 29th of June I reached a water called Lotlo- 

 kane, and hunted in the neighbohrood for several days, 

 bagging some very fine elephants. 



On the 13th of July I held west with MoUyeon and 



