i6 THREE iMONTHS IN PAHANG 
They said that they had heard that there was an Orattg Putck 
up the river at Sahat's kampong who was in search of elephants 
and that they were going up the river to ask liini to come 
down and rid them of this pest, I explained that I was 
the Oning Putch and asked them if there were no men in their 
hampoitg. They answered with much laughter that there were 
plenty, but that they had beeji sent to look for me. The men 
were, i suppose, too tired III 
I tied up the boat and told the women that I would come 
ashore and have a look at the elephant's tracks, which 1 would 
follow if I found that they were those of a Ijig bulk 
YasinaudI with (ild Mat Liiiggi followed the women— it is 
ahva3'S as well to take an old man with you on such occasions — 
and soon came to where the elephant had crossed the path to 
the clearing. The tracks were those of quite a big bull so I deci- 
ded to follow him. \Vc pushed on to the clearing and soon 
learnt that the clefibant had been quite close to the edge of the 
jungle np to daylight that morning, and since then bad been 
heard only a short distance away so I anticipated no difficulty 
in getting up to him. I sent Mat Linggi back to the boat to 
tell Ah Tong to make a camp at the edge of the river as I 
sl^ould not probalilj' be back till kite, and would not proceed 
further down river that day. Accompanied by two of the tired 
men, we followed the tracks of the bull, and soon came to 
where he had lain down. He had l)een gone about an hour. 
Yasin and I went on by ourselves now and presently 
heard the cracking of a branch ahead of us. We baited and I 
struck a match to ascertain the direction of the wind. It was 
favourable for a frontal attack so we proceeded as quickly as we 
could towards the soirnd. Soon many elephant noises struck 
on our ears, the flapping of his ears, the little satisfied grunts 
that an elephant indulges in when his stomach is full ntid lie is 
feeling quite pleased with himself, and the shuffling of his feet 
as he swayed about from side to side. He was standing 
behind a very big tree, and the cunning old fellow, before 
taking up his stand alongside this tree, hn.l broken down a 
sapling about uine inchen in diameter, which he hnd forced 
ovt-r with his foot so as to make a sort of bower. This was the 
noise we had heard which first gave us his position. Here he 
was protected on one side by the wind, and on the leeward side 
by a big tree and a leafy canopy which almost touched the 
groiuid and enttrel}' hid him from our view. We got right 
up to the buttresses of the tree ai^d were within ten yards of 
him without being able to see him. I dodged nbont around 
this tree and at last made out that he was standing with his 
hind quarter towards me. His great back seemed to tower up 
