.

We watched them a minute or so, to see what they would do, when Monyosi
by accident let go his dog, he having with difficulty held him tight
since the appearance of the herd. The cur immediately ran down and
barked at the elephants, whereupon they turned round and rushed towards
the bush which they had just left. I aimed at a large bull, taking the
spot between the eye and the ear as my target: I heard the bullet
strike, and then gave him a second shot on the shoulder. The distance
was about seventy yards, and my gun a fourteen-bore. This latter
circumstance was of course a great drawback, still, however, I expected
some notice to be taken of the two wounds; but the elephant never shook
his head. Coiling up his trunk, he charged straight into the forest,
followed by the whole herd, crushing and smashing all before them, like
a parcel of runaway railway-engines. Monyosi told me afterwards that it
was fortunate none of the herd had charged us, as there was so little
cover that we might very probably have got the worst of a hand-to-trunk
fight. This Kaffir always pleased me very much by the manner in which
he spoored; I could safely trust him on the spoor, and he would follow
with the accuracy of a bloodhound. Several of the men whom I employed
would often go wrong, and lose the footmarks of some particular animal
in a herd, and thereby cause considerable delay.

On one occasion I was in a very awkward position with a troop of
elephants.

I had left my horse to graze, and was walking round the bush, near some
deserted Kaffir gardens. I was searching for buck, and had no idea of
elephants being near. A fine black bush-buck gave me a chance, and I
fired at him; he bolted away into the bush, and I followed. There was
only one elephant-path, and it was so overgrown and blocked up that I
could with difficulty force my way along it. I kept a good lookout for
the buck's spoor, which I followed for about a quarter of a mile into
the bush, when I suddenly heard an elephant move close to me. I lay
down on the ground to try and get a glimpse of him, and soon saw a whole
string of elephants moving along very quickly, distant about sixty
yards. I knew at once, by their way of moving, that they were after me,
either from curiosity or rage. My shot at the buck had made them
acquainted with my presence. They seemed to be moving round so as to
cross my footsteps, and thus to block up the only path by which I could
ret