t they slept standing. Swartboy knew
better than that. He said that they sometimes slept standing, but
oftener lay down, especially in districts where they were not much
hunted. Swartboy considered it a good sign that this one had lain down.
He reasoned from it that the elephants had not been disturbed in that
neighbourhood, and would be the more easily approached and killed. They
would be less likely to make off from that part of the country, until
they--the hunters--had had a "good pull" out of them.

This last consideration was one of great importance. In a district
where elephants have been much hunted, and have learnt what the crack of
a gun signifies, a single day's chase will often set them travelling;
and they will not bring up again, until they have gone far beyond the
reach of the hunters. Not only the particular individuals that have
been chased act in this way; but all the others,--as though warned by
their companions,--until not an elephant remains in the district. This
migratory habit is one of the chief difficulties which the
elephant-hunter must needs encounter; and, when it occurs, he has no
other resource but to change _his_ "sphere of action."

On the other hand, where elephants have remained for a long time
undisturbed, the report of a gun does not terrify them; and they will
bear a good deal of hunting before "showing their heels" and leaving the
place.

Swartboy, therefore, rejoiced on perceiving that the old bull had lain
down. The Bushman drew a world of conclusions from that circumstance.

That the elephant had been lying was clear enough. The abrasion upon
the stiff mud of the ant-heap showed where his back had rested,--the
mark of his body was visible in the dust, and a groove-like furrow in
the turf had been made by his huge tusk. A huge one it must have been,
as the impression of it testified to the keen eyes of the Bushman.

Swartboy stated some curious facts about the great quadruped,--at least,
what he alleged to be facts. They were,--that the elephant never
attempts to lie down without having something to lean his shoulders
against,--a rock, an ant-hill, or a tree; that he does this to prevent
himself from rolling over on his back,--that when he does by accident
get into that position he has great difficulty in rising again, and is
almost as helpless as a turtle; and, lastly, that he often sleeps
standing beside a tree with the whole weight of his body leaning against
the