African Game Trails 
157 
large-leafed tree with bark like that of a 
scrub oak and big pods containing beans; 
evidently these beans were a favorite food. 
They fed in circles and zigzags, but tow¬ 
ard camp, until they were not much more 
than half a mile from it, and the noise 
made by the porters in talking and gather¬ 
ing wood was plainly 
audible; but the ele¬ 
phants paid no heed to 
it, being evidently too 
much accustomed to the 
natives to have much 
fear of man. We con¬ 
tinually heard them 
breaking branches, and 
making rumbling or 
squeaking sounds. 
They then fed slowly 
along in the opposite 
direction, and got into 
rather more open coun¬ 
try; and we followed 
faster in the big foot¬ 
prints of the bull we 
had selected. Suddenly 
in an open glade Kon- 
goni crouched and beck¬ 
oned to me, and through 
a bush I caught the loom 
of the tusker. But at 
that instant he either 
heard us, saw us, or 
caught a whiff of our 
wind, and without a 
moment’s hesitation he 
himself assumed the of¬ 
fensive. With his huge 
ears cocked at right an¬ 
gles to his head, and his 
trunk hanging down, he 
charged full tilt at us, 
coming steadily, silently, 
and at a great pace, his 
feet swishing through 
the long grass; and a 
formidable monster he 
looked. At forty yards I fired the right 
barrel of the Holland into his head, and 
though I missed the brain the shock dazed 
him and brought him to an instant halt. 
Immediately Kermit put a bullet from the 
Winchester into his head; as he wheeled 
I gave him the second barrel between the 
neck and shoulder, through his ear; and 
Kermit gave him three more shots before 
he slewed round and disappeared. There 
were not many minutes of daylight left, 
and we followed hard on his trail, Kon- 
goni leading. At first there was only an 
occasional gout of dark blood; but soon 
we found the splashes of red froth from the 
lungs; then we came to where he had fallen, 
and then we heard him crashing among the 
branches in thick jungle to the right. In 
we went after him, through the gathering 
gloom, Kongoni leading and I close behind, 
with the rifle ready for instant action; for 
though his strength was evidently fast fail¬ 
ing, he was also evidently in a savage tem¬ 
per, anxious to wreak his vengeance before 
he died. On we went, following the bloody 
