524 ElyEPHANT HUNTING. 



at the last of the elephants, and, to the great joy of my 



Eeople, broke his foreleg. The young men soon brought 

 im to a stand, and one shot in the brain despatched him. 

 I was right glad to see the joy manifested at such an 

 abundant supply of meat. 



On the following day, while my men were cutting up 

 the elephant, great numbers of the villagers came to enjoy 

 the feast. We were on the side of a fine green valley, 

 studded here and there with trees, and cut by numerous 

 rivulets. I had retired from the noise, to take an observa- 

 tion among some rocks of laminated grit, when I beheld 

 an elephant and her calf at the end of the valley, about 

 two miles distant. The calf was rolling in the mud, and 

 the dam was standing fanning herself with her great ears. 

 As I looked at them through my glass, I saw a long string 

 of nfy own men appearing on the other side of them, and 

 Sekwebu came and told me that these had gone oft", saying, 

 " Our father will see to-day what sort of men he has got." 

 I then went higher up the side of the valley, in order to 

 have a distinct view of their mode of hunting. The 

 goodly beast, totally unconscious of the approach of an 

 enemy, stood for some time suckling her young one, 

 which seemed about two years old ; they then went into 

 a pit containing mud, and smeared themselves all over 

 with it, the little one frisking about his dam, flapping 

 his ears and tossing his trunk incessantly, in elephantine 

 fashion. She kept flapping her ears and wagging her 

 tail, as rf in the height of enjoyment. Then began the 

 piping of her enemies, which was performed by blowing 

 into a tube, or the hands closed together, as boys do into 

 a key. They call out to attract the animal's attention — 



" chief! chief! we have come to kill you. 

 chief! chief! many more will die besides you, &c. 

 The gods have said it," &c. &c. 



Both animals expanded their ears and listened, then 

 left their bath as the crowd rushed towards them. The 

 little one ran forward towards the end of the valley, but, 

 seeing the men there, returned to his dam. She placed 

 herself on the danger side of her calf, and passed her 

 proboscis over it again and again, as if to assure it of 

 safety. She frequently looked back to the men, who kept 

 up an incessant shouting, singing, and piping ; then looked 

 at her young one and ran after it, sometimes sideways, 



