ElyEFHANr HUNTING. 525 



as if her feelings were divided between anxiety to protect 

 her offspring, and desire to revenge the temerity of her 

 persecutors. The men kept about a hundred yards in 

 her rear, and some, that distance from her flanks, and 

 continued thus until she was obliged to cross a rivulet. 

 The time spent in descending and getting up the opposite 

 bank, allowed of their coming up to the edge, and dis- 

 charging their spears at about twenty yards distance. 

 After the first discharge, she appeared with her sides red 

 with blood, and, beginning to flee for her own life, seemed 

 to think no more of her young. I had previously sent off 

 Sekwebu with orders to spare the calf. It ran very fast, 

 but neither young nor old ever enter into a gallop ; their 

 quickest pace is only a sharp walk. Before Sekwebu 

 could reach them, the calf had taken refuge in the water, 

 and was killed. The pace of the dam gradually became 

 slower. She turned with a shriek of rage, and made 

 a furious charge back among the men. They vanished 

 at right angles to her course, or sideways, and, as she ran 

 straight on, she went through the whole party, but came 

 near no one, except a man who wore a piece of cloth on 

 his shoulders. Bright clothing is always dangerous in 

 these cases. She charged three or four times, and, except 

 in the first instance, never went farther than 100 yards. 

 She often stood after she had crossed a rivulet, and faced 

 the men, though she received fresh spears. It was by 

 this process of spearing and loss of blood that she was 

 killed, for at last, making a short charge, she staggered 

 round and sank down dead in a kneeling posture. I did 

 not see the whole hunt, having been tempted away by 

 both sun and moon appearing unclouded. I turned from 

 the spectacle of the destruction of noble animals, which 

 might be made so useful in Africa, with a feeling of sick- 

 ness, and it was not relieved by the recollection that the 

 ivory was mine, though that was the case. I regretted 

 to see them killed, and more especially the young one, 

 the meat not being at all necessary at that time ; but it 

 is right to add, that I did not feel sick when my own blood 

 was up the day before. We ought perhaps to judge those 

 deeds more leniently in which we ourselves have no temp- 

 tation to engage. Had I not been previously guilty of 

 doing the very same thing, I might have prided myself 

 on superior humanity, when I experienced the nausea 

 in viewing my men kill these two. 



