96 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAr. v 
my friend had gone in as described ; but not being able to get 
up to within striking distance of his game at once, had sat 
down to chew tobacco, putting his weapons down beside him. 
In taking them up again as he rose, one of the excessively 
sharp points scratched his leg, with the result that he was 
unable to leave the spot and died right away. 
Perhaps I cannot do better than quote the account of my 
first success, after this long spell of bad luck, from my diary as 
entered at the time. I had moved from my standing camp to 
a temporary one near to the part of the bush where the 
elephants were reported to be then. “ Ndorobo elephant- 
hunter came early and said a herd of elephants was in the 
bush. I went with him soon after sunrise towards the foot of 
the range, where dense bush extends with hardly any break 
for miles. Before long we came on lots of quite fresh spoor ; 
but, before following in the direction the elephants had taken, 
we worked round to leeward, and then struck in. My guide 
kept frequently taking up dust from the ground and letting it 
trickle out of his fingers to test the air-currents, though for my 
own part I prefer to be ‘ still plucking the grass to try where 
sits the wind,’ dry grass crumbled in the hand being more 
sensitive to the slightest breath. We soon heard the elephants 
making their curious sounds, and again came on warm spoor, 
which we followed carefully. After following only a very 
short way, the solemn intestinal rumblings were heard, which 
so often give warning that the game is close ahead though still 
hidden by the thick bush. I stole on (having left my surplus 
followers), till the Ndorobo gave place to me to pass him. 
The bush, though a dense thorny scrub, is cut up by the 
elephants’ paths into a check pattern. Rounding a corner I 
came in view of three elephants only a few yards away standing 
in a little bare space. The nearest (a large one) had its stern 
to me, and seemed to be amusing itself by picking up dust to 
throw over its back. Two others stood opposite, sideways on ; 
one a small one with little ivory, the other a large fellow but 
