in 
THE ELEPHANT 
III 
The river ran through cliffs of rose-coloured 
limestone ; this soon changed to white ; and we pro¬ 
ceeded down stream examining the sandy portions 
of the bed for tracks of game that might have 
passed during the preceding night. After about a 
mile we came upon tracks of elephants, which had 
apparently come down to drink at our side of the 
river, and had then returned, I felt sure, to the 
thorny asylum named Tuleet. 
There was no other course to pursue but to 
follow on the tracks ; this we did until we arrived at 
the formidable covert to which I have alluded. It 
was impossible to enter this except at certain places 
where wild animals had formed a narrow lane, and 
in one of these by-ways we presently found our¬ 
selves, sometimes creeping, sometimes walking, but 
generally adhering firmly every minute to some 
irrepressible branch of hooked thorns, which gave 
us a pressing invitation to “wait a bit.” In a short 
time we found evident signs that the elephants were 
near at hand. The natives thrust their naked feet 
into the fresh dung to see if it was still warm. This 
was at length the case, and we advanced with extra 
care. The jungle became so thick that it was 
almost impossible to proceed. I wore a thick flaxen 
shirt which would not tear. This had short sleeves, 
as I was accustomed to bare arms from a few inches 
above the elbow. Not only my shirt, but the tough 
skin of my arms was every now and then hooked up 
fast by these dreadful thorns, and at last it appeared 
impossible to proceed. Just at that moment there 
