IX 
EXCURSIONS FROM EL BOGOI 
205 
standing, very sick, with another by her. I finished the former 
off with a Lee-Metford bullet in the brain, dropping her dead, 
and knocked over the other alongside of her in a similar way. 
The latter, though, plunged about, rising partially and falling 
again several times, while I fired two or three more shots into 
her head as she swung it about. Then she kept down, but 
still struggled. There were two half-grown ones, which I had 
not noticed before, standing by their prostrate friends ; I could 
not harm them, and, as I wanted to go up to finish securely 
the second cow, I told Squareface to shout at them. This had 
the desired effect of making them run away. 
Perhaps I should have gone on in the hope of finding others 
standing not far off, but it was getting near sundown, and I 
was tired (my strength not being yet fully returned after my 
recent spell of illness), and we had left Smiler at the first 
elephant. So we went back to it, cut out the heart and fat, 
taking also a piece of the trunk and a foot, and started to 
make our way out of the bush. By the time we got out (on 
our own side) it was sundown. We had gone but a few steps 
along the open, skirting the edge of the forest, when we heard 
an elephant scream close by, just inside a patch of some of the 
densest kind of jungle I know of—namely, that matted green 
growth, such as I have lately described, found in damp, sandy 
situations where the soil is salt. I do not much like going 
into these places under such circumstances, but the hopes of 
another elephant overcame my hesitation, and I entered the 
dark maze by a narrow path. Then, as I rounded a corner, 
an elephant, which was just crossing ahead, halted for a 
moment in the path, and gave me a peep at its shoulder. I 
aimed quickly for just behind it and fired. It gave a loud 
grunt as the shot struck it, and plunged into the cover. Then 
the herd dashed across beyond, making an appalling crashing 
and cracking as they tore a great road through in their first 
rush of frenzy, but it was impossible to distinguish any mark 
in the confused mass, crossing so narrow a gap. We followed 
