216 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. 
case, my natives always jokingly remind me of the 
fact by saying, ‘ Bwana, you don’t believe in our 
superstitions, yet you see there is something in 
them after all.’ 
Once, near the Myaeah Mountains and in the 
vicinity of the Lumasuli River, I came across the 
tracks of three elephants and after an arduous 
chase shot one of the herd, the other two effecting 
their escape. As we were dog-tired, I called a halt 
and pitched camp, and soon a cheery kettle was 
singing, over glowing embers, a paean in praise of 
that most refreshing of beverages—tea. After 
a brief rest and before settling down for the evening, 
I set out with my trackers to reconnoitre the 
surrounding country, never dreaming that we should 
encounter elephants on the way. As we trudged 
easily along, we suddenly came across a beautiful 
pool of water, fringed with rustling bamboos and 
starred with waterlilies ; and entwined among the 
reeds overhanging the margin of the mere, lurked 
the deadly coils of a snake known to the natives as 
the jokomahamba (or green namba), one of the 
largest and most venomous snakes in Africa. The 
reptile was evidently lying in wait for any small 
game that might come to drink at the pool, so 
raising my 1075 r ^ e » I took aim and fired, 
the bullet cutting its body in two. Both sections 
fell to the ground, the forepart containing the 
