44 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAP. 
useful many times to me and mine, as well as subsequently, 
at my instigation, to a German traveller, Dr. Kolb. Every¬ 
thing went off satisfactorily, and it was arranged that I was to 
be shown the haunts of the elephants the following morning, a 
herd of which was said to be still in the bush adjoining the 
cultivated lands. My feet were still very sore, but I felt that 
I must walk somehow. 
Having made an early start, then, the next day, some of 
the natives met us near the cultivation, close to where I had 
shot the three elephants. Some had been in the crops that 
night. We followed their spoor through the adjoining patch 
of forest, in which were the swamps we had seen before, and 
out into the shorter scrub beyond to the westward. They had 
gone in the direction of Kenia (which was only a comparatively 
short way off), evidently feeding. Unfortunately, I and my 
proceedings were a source of such interest to the inhabitants of 
the neighbourhood, few of whom had ever seen a white man, 
that numbers of them had followed us, and we gradually 
collected quite a gathering. They were a great nuisance, as 
they have little idea of hunting ; it was difficult to keep them 
quiet, and altogether they were very much in the way, but I 
had to put up with them. 
After proceeding a considerable distance through scrub 
sufficiently open to be easily walked through, on coming 
near a small stream a single cow elephant was made out 
standing by it. On our side there was open ground, but 
across rather dense scrub. I made a circuit to get the 
wind right and to have cover. Fortunately, the bulk of 
the native onlookers had made for some rising ground some 
distance away, whence they could get a view over the scrub, to 
see if they could discover the whereabouts of the elephants, 
and the one or two who had kept with me I now left behind. 
After crossing the stream twice I got close up to the cow, 
which was standing in the water feeding on trees growing on 
the bank. She waded down towards me and I dropped her 
