Chap. IV. THE ELEPHANT MAESH. 97 



The bows and poisoned arrows here are of superior work- 

 manship to those below. Mariano's slave-hunting parties 

 stood in great awe of these barbed arrows, and long kept 

 aloof from Tingane's villages. His people were friendly 

 enough with us now, and covered the banks with a variety 

 of articles for sale. The majestic mountain, Pirone, to 

 which we have given the name of Mount Clarendon, now 

 looms in sight, and further to the N.W. the southern end 

 of the grand Milanje range rises in the form of an un- 

 finished sphinx, looking down on Lake Shirwa. The Ruo 

 (16° 31' 0" S.) is said to have its source in the Milanje 

 mountains, and flows to the S.W., to join the Shire some 

 distance above Tingane's. A short way beyond the Euo 

 lies the elephant marsh, or Nyanja Mukulu, which is fre- 

 quented by vast herds of these animals. We believe that 

 we counted eight hundred elephants in sight at once. In 

 the choice of such a stronghold, they have shown their 

 usual sagacity, for no hunter can get near them through 

 the swamps. They now keep far from the steamer ; but, 

 when she first came up, we steamed into the midst of a 

 herd, and some were shot from the ship's deck. A single 

 lesson was sufficient to teach them that the puffing monster 

 was a thing to be avoided; and at the first glimpse they 

 are now off two or three miles to the midst of the marsh, 

 which is furrowed in every direction by wandering branches 

 of the Shire. A fine young elephant was here caught alive, 

 as he was climbing up the bank to follow his retreating 

 dam. When laid hold of, he screamed with so much energy 

 that, to escape a visit from the enraged mother, we steamed 

 off, and dragged him through the water by the proboscis. As 

 the men were holding his trunk over the gunwale, Monga, 

 a brave Makololo elephant-hunter, rushed aft, and drew his 



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