ELEPHANT-HUNTING. 67 



doze, having now more disposition to sleep ~than I 

 had felt during the night. A number of vultures 

 and other birds of prey kept hovering over the spot 

 where I was reposing, as if doubtful whether I was 

 an object calculated to appease their voracious appe- 

 tites. I was just on the point of settling their doubt 

 by raising my gun to fire, when Thackwray ap- 

 proached and prevented me, by stating that he had 

 just seen a troop of elephants near at hand. I rose 

 immediately, and perceived eight or ten of these 

 gigantic quadrupeds marching past at no great dis- 

 tance, the male leading the way, the females with 

 their young ones following in a direct line across a 

 grassy savannah, all apparently bending their course 

 down to the river. 



Thackwray succeeded after a long search in find- 

 ing the horses, which had fared badly, having been 

 compelled to browse on shrubs and underwood. We 

 had suffered considerably during the night from 

 want of water, but obtained a partial alleviation 

 of our thirst by roasting some branches of the 

 spekboom, PortucalariaAfra,which had a juicy, pun- 

 gent flavour, and tended in some degree to refresh 

 us. Whilst we were engaged in exploring the neigh- 

 bourhood for water, our attention was arrested by the 

 sagacity of some elephants in a kloof just below us. 

 Dismounting that we might approach them with 

 greater caution, we perceived several issuing from the 

 bush ; and while Thackwray descended to obtain a 



F 2 



