VIII 



TRAVELS IN EASTERN AFRICA 



361 



able to distinguish anything in the direction he 

 pointed, and so told him. He seemed much disap- 

 pointed, and by his actions appeared to lose a degree 

 of his faith in my power as a medicine-man. I satis- 

 fied myself by telling him that we should undoubtedly 

 find elephants on that day. I told him we would go 

 where he indicated, and if we did not find any there, 

 we certainly should find them elsewhere during the 

 day. This seemed to please him, and we all set out. 

 Before doinsr so, the natives removed their sandals 

 and cloaks, and those armed with bows laid them 

 aside. Their right hands grasped their elephant 

 spears, while in their left they carried an extra ele- 

 phant arrow. Two of the men, supposed to be the 

 best hunters of the tribe, preceded me, and we ad- 

 vanced silently and swiftly toward the bushes, where 

 these people assured me they had both heard and 

 seen elephants. After going on for an hour and a 

 half, we entered the bush, and there saw fresh signs 

 of elephants. Then we stopped. 



The country for some miles from the base of the 

 Loroghi range is covered with dense scrub, thorns, 

 and bush, which is intersected by elephant trails run- 

 ning in all directions. These paths are wide under 

 foot, and the marching is not bad ; but at a height 

 of three feet from the ground the bushes reach over 

 and meet, thus making progress in an upright position 

 impossible; one must creep along almost on one's 

 knees. The naked savages pass silently, and with suf- 

 ficient rapidity, but I, with my thick boots and can- 

 vas coat, could not move without noise and dhficulty. 

 Owing to the dense growth of bushes, it was impos- 



