66 ADVENTURES IN SOUTH AFRICA. 



about twenty natives on the spoor of bull elephants two 

 days old. In the desert I came upon a troop of about 

 twenty elands, the best of which I rode into and slew. 

 In the evening we took up fresher spoor of three old 

 bull elephants ; but night setting in, we halted beneath 

 a shady tree. 



Early in the morning we resumed the spoor, which 

 led us due west along the borders of the desert without 

 a checlc until sundown. We had now spoored these 

 elephants a very great distance, and the horses had not 

 had water since the morning of the preceding day. I 

 felt compassion for the thirsty steeds, and was on the 

 point of turning, when, lo ! a string of Bakalahari wom- 

 en were seen half a mile before us, each bearing on her 

 head an immense earthen vase and wooden bowl con- 

 taining water. They had been to a great distance to 

 draw water at a small fountain, and were now return- 

 ing to their distant desert home. This was to us a per- 

 fect God-send. The horses and dogs got as much as 

 they could drink, and all our vessels were replenished, 

 The sun being now under, we halted for the night. 



At sunrise we resumed the spoor, and after follow- 

 ing it for about ten miles, and finding that these ele- 

 phants had gone clean away into the desert beyond the 

 reach of man, we gave -it up, and made for the fountain 

 where the women had drawn the water on the preceding 

 day. On reaching the fountain wc found that four 

 bull elephants had drunk there during the night. It 

 was a soft, sandy soil, and the spoor was beautifully 

 visible. I had never seen larger spoor than that of two 

 of these ; they had fed slowly away from the fountain, 

 and we followed on with high hopes of seeing them 

 that day. 



At length we got into a more densely wooded coun- 



