378 
UGANDA 
[CH. XIII 
elephant poacher named Busherri—at least, that was as 
near the name as we could make out. He had gone 
into the Congo to get ivory, by shooting and trading; 
but the wild forest people had attacked him, and had 
killed him and seven of his followers, and the others were 
straggling homeward. In K amp all a we had met an 
elephant-hunter named Quin, who had recently lost his 
right arm in an encounter with a wounded tusker. Near 
one camp the head chief pointed out two places, now 
overgrown with jungle, where little villages had stood 
less than a year before. In each case elephants had 
taken to feeding at night in the shambas, and had 
steadily grown bolder and bolder, until the natives, their 
crops ruined by the depredations and their lives in 
danger, had abandoned the struggle, and shifted to 
some new place in the wilderness. 
We were soon to meet elephants ourselves. The 
morning of the 28th was rainy. We struck camp 
rather late, and the march was long, so that it was mid- 
afternoon when Kermit and I reached our new camping- 
place. Soon afterwards word was brought us that some 
elephants were near by. We were told that the beasts 
were in the habit of devastating the shambas, and were 
bold and truculent, having killed a man who had tried 
to interfere with them. Kermit and I at once started 
after them, just as the last of the safari came in, accom¬ 
panied by Cuninghame, who could not go with us, as 
he was recovering from a bout of fever. 
In half an hour we came on fresh signs of game, 
and began to work cautiously along them. Our guide, 
a wild-looking savage with a blunt spear, went first, 
followed by Kongoni, who is excellent on spoor ; then I 
came, followed by Kermit and by the other gun-bearers. 
The country was covered with tall grass, and studded 
