844 
THE ELEPHANT. 
best of the night’s entertainment was yet to come. 
A large herd of female elephants with their 
calves soon afterwards came on, perfectly heedless 
of the firing that had just taken place, and with a 
rush gained the water exactly opposite to my ant¬ 
hill ; and subsequently other troops, consisting both 
of cows and bulls, poured in from different quarters. 
It was quite remarkable to observe how the animals 
ranged themselves closely side by side, like a line of 
infantry. They drew up in single file, the line 
extending the entire width of the lake, which here 
was about three hundred yards broad. 
The moon was then nearly at its zenith, and shed 
a glorious and dazzling light on the huge creatures 
below me. I felt no inclination to disturb so 
striking and interesting a picture; indeed, even 
had I been so disposed, it would have availed me 
little, as the vley, in the direction occupied by the 
elephants, was totally destitute of cover; so all I 
could do, and did, was to look on, sigh, and 
admire. 
When they had ceased drinking, and were about 
moving away from the water, I hurried forward to 
intercept their retreat, and as the very last of the 
vast herd was about to disappear, I succeeded, with 
some difficulty, in shouldering my rifle and firing. 
The rush and trampling that followed the dis¬ 
charge of the piece was truly most appalling; 
the animals actually yelled with rage. They 
were indeed, as I shortly afterwards experienced 
in a “stalk” after them that nearly cost me my 
life, a most savage lot. My last shot, however, 
