African Game Trails • 
665 
on the spoor. If we had been only after 
ivory we should have followed him at once; 
but there was no telling how long a chase he 
might lead us; and as we desired to save 
the skin of the dead elephant entire, there 
was no time whatever to spare. It is a 
formidable task, occupying many days, to 
preserve an elephant for mounting in a 
museum, and if the skin is to be properly 
saved, it must be taken off without an hour’s 
unnecessary delay. 
So back we turned to where the dead 
tusker lay, and I felt proud indeed as I 
stood by the immense bulk of the slain 
monster and put my hand on the ivory. 
The tusks weighed a hundred and twenty 
pounds the pair. There was the usual 
scene of joyful excitement among the gun- 
bearers—who had behaved excellently— 
and among the wild bush people who had 
done the tracking for us; and, as Cuning- 
hame had predicted, the old Masai Derobo, 
from pure delight, proceeded to have hys¬ 
terics on the body of the dead elephant. 
The scene was repeated when Heller and 
the porters appeared half an hour later. 
Then, chattering like monkeys, and as 
happy as possible, all, porters, gun-bearers, 
and ’Ndorobo alike, began the work of 
skinning and cutting up the quarry, under 
the leadership and supervision of Heller 
and Cuninghame, and soon they were all 
splashed with blood from head to foot. 
One of the trackers took off his blanket 
and squatted stark naked inside the carcass 
the better to use his knife. Each laborer 
rewarded himself by cutting off strips of 
meat for his private store, and hung them 
in red festoons from the branches round 
about. There was no let-up in the work 
until it was stopped by darkness. 
Our tents were pitched in a small open 
glade a hundred yards from the dead ele¬ 
phant. The night was clear, the stars 
shone brightly, and in the west the young 
moon hung just above the line of tall tree 
tops. Fires were speedily kindled and the 
men sat around them, feasting and singing 
in a strange minor tone until late in the 
night. The flickering light left them at 
one moment in black obscurity, and the 
next brought into bold relief their sinewy 
crouching figures, their dark faces, gleam¬ 
ing eyes, and flashing teeth. When they 
did sleep, two of the ’Ndorobo slept so 
close to the fire as to bum themselves; an 
VOL. XLVII.—68 
accident to which they are prone, judging 
from the many scars of old burns on their 
legs. I toasted slices of elephant’s heart 
on a pronged stick before the fire, and 
found it delicious; for I was hungry and 
the night was cold. We talked of our 
success and exulted over it, and made our 
plans for the morrow; and then we turned 
in under our blankets for another night’s 
sleep. 
Next morning some of the ’Ndorobo 
went off on the trail of Cuninghame’s ele¬ 
phant to see if it had fallen, but found that 
it had travelled steadily, though its wounds 
were probably mortal. There was no ob¬ 
ject in my staying, for Heller and Cuning¬ 
hame would be busy for the next ten days, 
and would ultimately have to use all the 
porters in taking off and curing the skin, 
and transporting it to Neri; so I made up 
my mind to go down to the plains for a 
hunt-by myself. Taking one porter to carry 
my bedding, and with my gun-bearers, and 
a Derobo as guide, I struck off through the 
forest for the main camp, reaching it early 
in the afternoon. Thence I bundled off a 
safari to Cuninghame and Heller, with food 
for a week, and tents and clothing, and en¬ 
joyed the luxury of a shave and a warm 
bath. Next day was spent in writing and 
making preparations for my own trip. A 
Kikuyu chief, clad in a cloak of hyrax skins, 
and carrying his war spear, came to con¬ 
gratulate me on killing the elephant and to 
present me with a sheep. Early the follow¬ 
ing morning everything was in readiness; 
the bull-necked porters lifted their loads, I 
stepped out in front, followed by my led 
horse, and in ten hours’ march we reached 
Neri boma, with its neat buildings, its trees, 
and its well-kept flower beds. 
My hunting and travelling during the 
following fortnight will be told in the next 
chapter. On the evening of September 
6th we were all together again at Meru 
boma, on the north-eastern slopes of Kenia 
—Kermit, Tarlton, Cuninghame, Heller, 
and I. Thanks to the unfailing kindness 
of the Commissioner, Mr. Horne, we were 
given full information of the elephant in the 
neighborhood. He had no ’Ndorobo, but 
among the Wa-Meru, a wild martial tribe, 
who lived close around him, there were a 
number of hunters, or- at least of men who 
knew the forest and the game, and these 
had been instructed to bring in any news. 
