THE FALL OF THE ELEPHANT. 217 



he saw wandering, in peaceful seclusion, hundreds of 

 the great mammals. But close on the heels of 

 Harris followed the Boer Voer-trekkers, who, having 

 attacked and driven out Moselikatse, turned their 

 attention to the extraordinary wealth of ivory within 

 their new-found borders. Their labours have been 

 but too successful ; and there now remains to the 

 vast territories of the South African Republic 

 probably not one solitary wild elephant ! All have 

 vanished. North of the Transvaal lie Matabele and 

 Mashona lands, the country now ruled by Lobengula, 

 son of the dreaded Moselikatse. So recently as 

 between 1871 and 1875, these lands were tenanted 

 by vast numbers of elephants ; but, as Mr. F. C. 

 Selous, the well-known hunter, tells us, it is now 

 difficult in a year's hunting to come across a single 

 elephant in these countries. Mr. Selous, himself the 

 mightiest elephant-hunter of these or any other 

 times, who has devoted the greater part of the last 

 seventeen years to the fierce toil and countless 

 dangers of ivory-hunting, and the numerous Dutch 

 and other hunters who have ravaged the country, 

 have much to answer for in this matter. But, after 

 all, they have been but the instruments of supply 

 to a pitiless and never-ceasing demand. 



Turning westward to Bechuanaland, the same 

 story has to be told. In Gordon Cumming's time — 

 1846 to 1850 — Bamangwato, now ruled by Khama, 

 was a veldt virgin to the hunter. Gordon Gumming 

 himself was one of the first to exploit it ; and 

 by him, O swell, and Vardon, and afterwards by 

 Baldwin and others, great execution was wrought 

 amongst the elephants, even as far to the west as 

 Lake N'Gami. Professional hunters have, since 



