aroused as he nears these monarchs of the forest, who roam
free through the wilderness of nature, without a considerable
rival save man. The inexpressible glow of excitement
is perhaps a selfish feeling; but it thrills through every
fibre of your system as you approach nearer and nearer to
the object whose life it is your ambition to take. Does not
this, almost with vividness show, that the instincts of the
lower forms of animal life, from which it is said that all
mankind have sprung, bud out through the higher intellect,
even in all its severely cultivated forms ?
There was a lull in the wind, which is an indispensable
„agent to a successful stalk, and close to the left I soon
observed a moving object. The dull leaden colour of the
elephant serves admirably as a protection from the searching
glance of his pursuer, and in this he resembles most of the
wild animals, whose colour is akin to that of the vegetation
in which they live. There was soon revealed to our view a
large elephant cow; and I had just brought my rifle to the
shoulder, when John pulled my sleeve and told me not to
shoot, because it was a “ kooes-cop,” i.e. an elephant without
tusks.
Whether she had scented us, or had been startled by
the honey birds,* which continued to chirp and lead us all
the way I know not, but suddenly, with gigantic strides
and curling her trunk close up under the mouth, she made
off towards her companions, who were standing huddled
together under some large gonte trees, fanning themselves
with their huge ears.
There was no time to lose. Happily the fugitive did not
trumpet, so that we were able to get within fairly good
range before she raised the alarm. I fired at the nearest
* These little birds are very troublesome during a stalk, for if the game
hear them they recognise the cry as a note of caution.
elephant, and the shot threw him into a state of the wildest
excitement, shown by successive shrill trumpetings. Wheeling
round and round he came heavily to the ground; while
away went the panic-striken herd, sounding aloud their far-
reaching bugle-call of retreat, and clearing all before them.
I never saw a quicker piece of roadmaking. They literally
crashed and ploughed their way through the young forest,
piling up, on each side of their track, mopani-trees, stacks
of rank grass, and great heaps of scrub bush.
Thinking, and as it proved rightly, that I had mortally
wounded the first elephant, I ran after the herd as fast as
I could, and coming within pretty close range fired, but
this time made a bad shot, hitting a young bull too far
back, after aiming at the shoulder.
John was now close to me in hot pursuit of a cow, which
he had hit several times. She had fallen behind the rest
of the herd, and just at this moment had almost stopped.
Turning towards us, John shouted:
“ Look out, master, look o u t! ”
At this evidently critical moment I was endeavouring
with all the energy at my disposal to reload my rifle; but,
as on many other occasions, of which one or two might
have cost me my life, the empty cases had stuck, and
do what I might, I could not extract them for some
time.
Meanwhile I heard other two shots, and when I last saw
John he was flying like the wind through the bush, while
his gun-carrier fled in another direction, shouting like a
demon. Karemba had left me, and rightly too, for he was
unarmed, and the noise made by the elephants sounded as
though they were actually upon us. Behind, and uttering
sharp screams, was the first elephant I had shot, while that
which John had wounded was in front, dashing wildly