s.

As I sat listening for any sounds of the approaching Caffres, I heard a
slight crack in the bush, then another and a louder crack; and I knew
these noises must be caused by elephants, for the Caffres glide through
the bush without making any noise. I awoke Inyoni, and we were soon
convinced that the elephants were approaching us. My companion was
alarmed, as he seemed to think the elephants were hunting us in order to
revenge themselves on us. We crept through the bush to a large tree,
and climbed this quickly, getting up so high that no elephant could
reach us.

We had reached our place of safety, when we saw the first elephant
approaching us: this was a cow, and it was following the track of the
bull that was now dead. After this cow came about forty other elephants
of various sizes. They came along with a sort of shuffling gait,
stopping every now and then to listen and sniff the air, and then to
move forward again. When they came to the spot where we had sat down,
they smelt the ground, and then raising their trunks sniffed all round.
Their attention, however, was soon attracted to the dead elephant, which
they approached and touched with their trunks, several of them uttering
sharp cries as though they wished to wake him. After a few minutes,
however, they seemed to know that he was dead, as they moved away from
him and stood looking at him, whilst they flapped their great ears and
seemed very uneasy. Suddenly, as though suspicious of danger, the large
cow-elephant uttered a shrill trumpet and dashed off through the bush,
recklessly smashing the small trees and branches in her course. She was
followed by the whole herd, and we could hear them as they forced their
way through the underwood, the sounds becoming fainter and less audible
until all was again quiet.

We remained in our tree, for we could not tell whether more elephants
might not come, and on the ground we were in danger. All was quiet,
however, for a long time, until we heard the slightest movement of some
leaves; and then we saw Tembile, followed by Inyati and all the men and
boys of our village. We whistled to them, and, descending the tree,
told them what we had seen. We talked in whispers and then went up to
the dead elephant and examined it. The reed portion of my arrow had
been broken off, but the barb containing the poison was buried deep in
the elephant's flesh, and thus the poison had circulated rapidly and had
caused the mon