VIII 
EXCURSIONS FROM EL BO GO I 
187 
green. As I paused, some of the elephants moved nearer to 
me in the shallow, sandy stream, drinking and playing with the 
water. One pair, a cow and a large bull, were evidently 
making love. The bull fondled his mate with his trunk, and 
then, standing side by side, they crossed trunks and put the 
tips into each other’s mouths ; an undoubted elephantine kiss. 
This rather put me off, and I hesitated so long that my gun- 
bearer crept up to my elbow, as I crouched behind a tree, and 
whispered, “ Bwana, pika” (Master, strike). Indeed, that was 
what I had come for ; and since I had left the coast (between 
three and four months ago), I had had no success until now. 
I was about fifty yards from those nearest me, and, though the 
ground was quite open between, I daresay I might have got 
nearer, but some of the elephants were now moving into the 
dense bush across the stream, so I singled out a bull with 
beautifully symmetrical and fairly long, though not massive, 
tusks, and fired at him with my heavy rifle, aiming just behind 
the shoulder. At the shot he started off, throwing a quantity 
of water out of his mouth, and I gave him the second barrel 
before he reached the cover, both, as I thought, about the right 
spot. Then, seizing the magazine rifle, I gave another elephant 
a shot just as it was entering the bush. By this time all but 
one cow had disappeared into the opposite jungle ; she stood 
some distance off on the far bank, apparently undecided what 
to do. Though a longer range than I had ever shot an 
elephant at before, I gave her a bullet (Lee-Metford) about the 
shoulder-joint ; she staggered, and a second laid her low. 
I will not attempt to give a detailed account of all the 
incidents of this exciting afternoon’s work. I could not 
remember every particular, even the day after, when I made 
my entry for this great day in my diary; moreover, I don’t 
think it would be worth while to put each one down if I could. 
I had, however, one adventure, which I must describe, that can 
only be called miraculous ; though whether or not it was what 
can be classed as “ a narrow escape ” (a thing I do not care to 
