CHAP. XXIII. 
THE ELEPHANT-HUNT. 
233 
had found seventeen elephants, in one herd or drove, 
feeding in a comparatively open space on the other 
side of the hill. As the hunters counselled great 
caution and silence, it was decided that only ten picked 
persons were to accompany His Royal Highness, whilst 
his Excellency the Governor and the remainder of the 
people remained perfectly quiet at the foot of the hill 
where they then were. The Prince, Currie, Rex, my¬ 
self, and one or two others, and the hunters, then pro¬ 
ceeded cautiously to the top of the hill, and certainly 
a glorious sight met our view. Looking down from 
this eminence you could see, as far as the eye could 
reach, a great aboriginal forest extending away for 
hundreds of miles in a belt east and west, and beyond 
it to the south the beautiful blue Indian Ocean. At, 
our very feet, sloping down southwards, on the face 
of the mountain from the top of which we had this 
magnificent view there was a small detached forest of 
gigantic trees ; between the base of it and the edge of 
the great forest was some undulating ground, covered 
by scrub bush, great overgrown ferns, and long reeds 
and grass, in extent about a mile; and in the midst of 
this were these seventeen elephants, browsing upon the 
tender tops of all this succulent vegetation. From 
where we stood it seemed as if the elephants were in 
an 6 open,’ as the scrub appeared to come barely above 
their knees. All these elephants were large, and all 
