ast.
When the blacks observed this, they continued to plunge more and more
weapons into his body. The young ones turned round, and, I thought,
cast reproachful, if not angry, glances at the assailants of their
guardian. Fresh hunters kept coming up, and discharging their weapons,
again retreated under shelter. At length the poor elephant could no
longer move. Its huge head and trunk fell slowly down, then sinking on
his knees, fell gradually over on one side. The poor young elephants
were quickly despatched; and the hunters came rushing up, shouting and
singing over their prizes. The chief then stuck a club into the ground,
with a hideous-looking figure carved on the top of it. On this they all
joined hands and began dancing and shouting more furiously than before,
going round and round their prey. The chief and others then brought
pieces of the meat, which they placed before the idol. This I now knew
to be a _fetish_, as all idols as well as charms are called throughout
Negro-land. I was afraid every instant that I should be seen. Hitherto
there had been little risk of that, as they were all so eagerly engaged
in their assault on the elephant. I supposed that my friends must have
seen the hunters; at all events their loud shouts would now make their
presence known.

Presently one of the hunters looking up caught sight of me in the tree.
I thought he would have fallen back with astonishment. The spear he was
holding in his hand dropped to the ground, his hand sank by his side,
and he kept gazing up, rolling the large white balls of his eyes round
and round as if he was going off in a fit. His exclamation drew the
attention of his companions to me. Many of them seemed as much
astonished, exhibiting their surprise in various grotesque ways. What
they took me for I could not tell; probably some strange animal or a
spirit of the woods. The latter was, I believe, the case. I made signs
to them that I wished to be their friend, putting my hand out as if to
shake theirs, and then began slowly to descend the tree. Still they did
not seem to have made up their minds whether they would wish for a
nearer acquaintance. I tried to explain to them, however, that I had
got up the tree to avoid the elephant, and as they had killed it, for
which I was much obliged to them, I could now come down without fear.
Whether they understood my signs I could not tell, but by degrees I saw
that their fears were somewhat quelled