234 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch . xxv 
marry a woman who is both old and ugly, and who, 
instead of frittering away her time in love-making, 
will spend it wisely in preparing food and pombe for 
me. After all, what else does a man want a wife 
for?’ 
Ere many weeks had elapsed, Malingum had 
recovered all his old gaiety, and it was cheerful to 
hear his wholesome laughter and light-hearted 
chatter in the camp once more. 
In explanation of the above episode, let me state 
that the idea is firmly imbedded in the mind of every 
native hunter of these parts that, if an elephant or 
buffalo charge him without provocation, or if his gun 
hang fire in the chase, it is purely and simply because 
his wife is proving unfaithful to him. Should such 
an incident occur when he is hunting, he usually 
returns at once to his village, calls the villagers 
together, accuses his wives, and subjects them to 
the poison ordeal, a description of which rite I have 
given in another chapter. 
