HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 



53 



2 show him being fed with a bottle by Mrs. 

 Pretorius; No. 2 shows Major Pretorius 

 standing by him. No. 3 shows him having 

 a sleep. No. 4 is the first Elephant shot. 



Should this story and photographs be 

 of interest to readers of your Magazine I 

 trust they may find a place. 



Yours very truly, 



SIDNEY W. SHAW. 



ELEPHANT HUNTING TRIP WITH 



MAJOR PRETORIUS, 

 September 8th, 1919, from Kenkelbosch. 



By Sidney W. Shaw. 



No. 3— "Jumbo" with his Boy, fast asleep. 

 hunt, horses were saddled for the Major and myself. 



5 a.m. in the morning the whole camp 

 was astir. The boys prepared for the day's 



Having partaken of coffee a start was made at about 6 a.m., the air being very keen our thick woollen 

 sweaters were much appreciated. 



After riding through open country for a matter of about an hour, we struck the thick of the Bush, the 

 boys making a path by cutting away with their axes. We had not gone far, however, when we found riding 

 impossible, and we had to dismount. Pushing our way through the Bush we came to a water-hole where 

 elephants were known to frequent. No results were obtained, however, as no fresh spoor was showing, 

 so we retraced our steps back to the clearance. On this part of our journey a jackal was heard to scream, 

 the dogs were turned loose, and one Geoff, a born hunter, was away several minutes, returning with traces 

 of combat in the form of blood around the jaws. It is remarkable how the Major's dogs do enjoy the hunt, 

 just as much as the people who take 

 part, and in some cases, more so. 



Resuming our journey we once 

 again strike the thick Bush, which is 

 thick with a vengeance. It is much as 

 one can do to get through at all, and 

 clothing unless of a very special nature 

 does not stand any great amount of 

 chance. The boys had to cut a path in 

 numerous places, the horses having to 

 be led as riding was impossible. 



We at last reached a path which 

 ran alongside a fence enabling us to 

 ride, the procession moving in single 

 file. Here there were numerous traces 

 of damage done by elephant. About 9 

 a.m. we reached a stretch of open 

 veldt with a water hole in the centre; 

 here we found traces of fresh spoor, 

 showing elephant had been around a 

 few hours previous. The party halted 

 and breakfast was served which, after 

 our early morning ride, sure did taste 

 good. The chops being grilled over a No. 4.- First Elephant shot in Addo Bush by Major Pretorius. 



