196 
THROUGH SOMALILAND AND ABYSSINIA chap. 
stone dead, under the trees, a crimson stream flowing from a 
hole through the temple where I had aimed. 
Going after the others, I found they were three cows and a 
calf, so I gave up the chase and returned to the hillock to look 
round. A curious sight met our eyes. The Daghatto Valley 
lay before us, one unbroken expanse of tree-jungle, and we could 
see five or six groups of elephants making up the valley, going 
north. There were probably not less than one hundred and 
twenty in all, looking very red under the low evening sun ; 
sometimes their backs could be seen in a shining line above the 
jungle, sometimes they disappeared in the thicker parts. It 
was now getting late, and after a search for the elephant I hit in 
the head at the beginning of the hunt, I gave up the chase and, 
collecting my people, made for camp, many miles distant. 
While we were returning to camp at sundown a leopard 
sprang out of some undergrowth a few yards ahead and bounded 
away before I had time to fire. As we reached camp, with 
Daura, as usual after a successful hunt, taking the lead and 
singing, all the camp men fell into line to mark their appreciation, 
and crowded round me to salaam and shake hands. 
On the 23rd, starting early and carrying axes and knives, we 
went to remove the head-skin and cut out the tusks of the bull 
elephant. As we walked up to the grove of trees and came in 
sight of the body, a fine panther, which had been quietly sleeping 
against it on the lee side, gave us one look and bounded away. 
I could not fire, as Geli’s head was in the way when I first saw 
the spotted skin. The brute had come, no doubt, during the 
night to lick the blood, and had been caught taking a nap rather 
later than usual. I followed through thorny jungle to try and 
get another glimpse, but the panther had disappeared. 
We had rain all day, and returned to camp with the tusks in 
the evening. The whole valley was practically a swamp, and we 
several times had to wade up to our knees, and once up to our 
waists, in mud and water. Only by first trying the depth of the 
slush with our own bodies did we succeed in getting the camels 
on to camp. 
We marched back on the morning of the 24th to Garabad, 
and in the evening to Denleh, where we fell in with a trading 
caravan of the Malingur. On the 25th we made two marches 
to Segag, by a picturesque river-bed called Sullul, with running 
water, and a number of wells overshadowed by large camel-thorn 
trees. The banks were of red earth, which had been much 
