DANGERS OF SPORT. 141 



than Mr. Cumniing ever saw. The tsetse Is, however, 

 an insuperable barrier to hunting with horses there, and 

 ^Europeans can do nothing on foot. The step of the ele- 

 phant when charging the hunter, though apparently not 

 quick, is so long that the pace equals the speed of a good 

 horse at a canter. A young sportsman, no matter how 

 great among pheasants, foxes, and hounds, would do well 

 to pause before resolving to brave fever for the excite- 

 ment of risking such a terrific charge ; the scream, or 

 trumpeting, of this enormous brute when infuriated is 

 more like what the shriek of a French steam-whistle would 

 be to a man standing on the dangerous part of a railroad, 

 than any other earthly sound : a horse unused to it will 

 sometimes stand shivering instead of taking his rider out 

 of danger. It has happened often that the poor animal's 

 legs do their duty so badly that he falls and exposes his 

 rider to be trodden into a mummy ; or, losing his presence 

 of mind, the rider may allow the horse to dash under a tree 

 and crack his cranium against a branch. As one charge 

 from an elephant has made embryo Nimrods bid a final 

 adieu to the chace, incipient Gordon Cummings might try 

 their nerves by standing on railways till the engines were 

 within a few yards of them. Hunting elephants on foot 

 would be not less dangerous,* unless the Ceylon mode of 

 killing them by one shot could be followed : it has never 

 been tried in Africa. 



Advancing to some wells beyond L,etloche, at a spot 

 named Kanne, we found them carefully hedged round by 

 the people of a Bakalahari village situated near the spot. 

 We had then sixty miles of country in front without water, 

 and very distressing for the oxen, as it is generally deep 

 soft sand. There is one sucking-place, around " which 

 were congregated great numbers of Bush women with their 

 egg-shells and reeds. Mathuluane now contained no 

 water, and Motlatsa only a small supply, so we sent the 

 oxen across the country to the deep well Nkauane, and 

 half were lost on the way. When found at last they had 

 been five whole days without water. Very large numbers 

 of elands were met with as usual, though they seldom can 

 get a sip to drink. Many of the plains here have large 



* Since writing the above statement it has received confirmation in 

 the reported death of Mr. Walhberg while hunting elephants on foot 

 at Lake Ngami. 



