HOTTENTOT TEACHERS. 
303 
made, should they visit the water during the coming 
night, to attack them on the following morning. 
On these occasions the natives in scores—nay, in 
hundreds—follow the sportsman to his bivouac, 
which, for fear of alarming the elephants, is usually 
at some little distance from the pool. They (the 
natives) commonly arrive about daybreak; it is a 
strange sight to see these dusky and savage figures 
gliding with phantom-like steps through the forest, 
each equipped with a fire-brand (the custom of the 
country) as a protection against the cold. It brings 
to one’s mind the fable of Ulysses’ visit to the dead. 
As the different parties arrive, fires are lighted, 
round which the barbarians group themselves, im¬ 
patiently waiting the first signs of day. Great 
excitement prevails, but conversation is carried on 
in a whisper. 
As soon as it has become sufficiently light to dis¬ 
tinguish the 6C spoor” of the elephant, one or two 
experienced cc trackers”* are dispatched to examine 
the ground, and should their search prove satis¬ 
factory, a suppressed murmur of delight runs 
through the assembly. Springing to their feet, 
* Vaillant, when speaking of the “trackers,” says:—“What a 
subtle sense is the sight of a Hottentot! how he assists it by a diffi¬ 
cult and truly wonderful attention, upon a dry ground, where, in 
spite of his great weight, the elephant scarcely leaves any trace; in 
the midst of dead leaves, scattered and curled up by the wind, the 
African recognises his step. He sees the way which the animal has 
taken, and that which he himself must follow. A green leaf turned 
up or broken off, a bud, or a little twig bruised or torn down, these, 
and a thousand other circumstances, are indications which never fail 
him. The most expert European hunter is completely baffled; for 
myself, I could never understand it.” 
