AMBUSHING FOB GAME. 
8 ; 1:1 
more of the untamed life of savage beasts, in a single 
night of such peregrinations, than during months of 
toilsome wanderings in the broad light of the sun. 
To give the reader, however, a better opportunity 
of judging between my critic and myself, I subjoin 
an account of two or three nights spent bv me 
“ ambushing for game,’ 5 nights which were certainly 
not devoid of interest, though not always, it is true, 
of the most pleasurable kind. 
On one occasion I had arrived a few minutes be¬ 
fore sunset at a large C€ vley,” called Okavaoa, 
which, from the number of elephants’ footsteps in 
the sand, was evidently much resorted to by those 
animals. There was, however, danger in facing 
them here; the locality, with the exception of 
several gigantic ant-hills, described at page 289, 
being destitute of adequate shelter, and time not 
admitting of the construction of a “ screen ” like 
that elsewhere described, in which I was accus¬ 
tomed to ensconce myself on similar occasions. 
Still I did not relish the idea of losing a chance, 
and therefore determined, at all hazards, to take up 
my position for the night in one of the artificial 
mounds in question; and this the rather as the 
moon was at the full, which was much in mv 
favour. 
I had not been long perched in my post 
of observation before a cracking and crackling 
amongst the trees and bushes in the neighbouring 
thicket announced the approach of elephants, and 
a few moments afterwards a dozen or more huge 
unwieldy figures looming in the distance told 
