301 
CHAPTER V. 
STALKING GENERALLY DESCRIBED — THE AUTHOR’S OWN EX¬ 
PERIENCES—TRACKING THE ELEPHANT—FATIGUE OF ELEPHANT¬ 
SHOOTING—QUALITIES REQUISITE IN AN ELEPHANT-HUNTER— 
PARTY OF OYAMBOES—SUCCESSFUL STALKING—NOTE.S FOR THE 
GUIDANCE OF ELEPHANT-HUNTERS. 
TflHOUGH the elephant, if left unmolested, is of 
JL a pacific disposition, yet, if roused and irri¬ 
tated, he proves a most dangerous enemy, and, as 
some will have it, “ more difficult to conquer than 
any other beast of chase .’ 3 Be that as it may, he is 
certainly the noblest game in the world, and from 
his great power and sagacity, gives ample scope for 
the hunter’s skill and daring. 
In Southern Africa, the chasse of this animal is 
conducted as well on horseback as on foot. Where 
the country is tolerably open, the former mode, as 
being not only the most exciting and imposing, but 
the safest, the least fatiguing, and the most suc¬ 
cessful, is greatly to be preferred; but in wooded 
districts the elephant is perhaps “ stalked” to fully 
equal advantage. 
Geographical researches being the main object of 
my several journeys into the interior, and hunting 
and shooting secondary considerations, it was only 
