168 



THE MARCH. 



itself from one too large or too small : if fairly 

 jammed, however, it cannot escape. We did not 

 sight a single specimen; but judging from the 

 footprints — three to three and a half circumfer- 

 ences showing the shoulder-height — the elephant 

 here is not of tall stature. Trom the further in- 

 terior come tusks commonly weighing 100 lbs. 

 each ; those of 175 lbs. are not rare, and I have 

 heard of a par nobile sent from Delagoa Bay to 

 the King of Portugal, whose joint weight was 

 560 lbs. We also saw many traces of lion, 

 antelope, and wild cattle, here called buffalo. 

 It was a severe disappointment to us that we 

 could not revisit, as we had promised ourselves, 

 this country during the rains ; but Lieut. -Col. 

 Hamerton strongly dissuaded us from again risk- 

 ing jungle fever; and we had other work to 

 do in Inner Africa. Sporting, indeed, must 

 occupy the whole man, and even to shoot for 

 specimens is often to waste time in two ways. 

 The ' serious traveller ' must indulge himself by 

 taking at times a week or a fortnight's leave 

 from geograpical work, and even then he will 

 frequently find circumstances interfere with his 

 plans. Throughout our march in these regions 

 game was rarely seen ; none lives where the land 

 is peopled ; in the parts near the stations it is 



