ance, that had evidently formerly been occupied by some
able excavator, probably an ant-bear. I could not get at the "fretful"
in this retreat, but on arriving at home consulted with my Kaffirs, who
agreed that we would get some dogs, and go out soon after the moon rose.
We did so, armed with knob-kerries and assagies; and placing two
sentries over the hole, we sent the dogs on the traces, having
discovered that he was out for the night. We soon heard the yelping of
the curs, and ran to the spot. The porcupine was coming along in a
great fuss with the dogs all round him; assagies and sticks were hurled
at him, while he dodged amongst the Kaffirs' naked legs, who jumped
about with wonderful activity. A blow on the nose at last finished him.

At this place two gentleman attempted to play on me a very silly trick,
that might have led to very serious consequences, had it not been for
the greatest caution on the part of myself and another individual.

A party of five had been dining together, when, at about 10 p.m., a
commissariat officer and I, who were two of the five, left the others,
and mounted our horses for the purpose of riding round the edge of the
Berea, on the chance of finding an elephant outside it, as I had heard
several feeding in the bush as I returned from shooting in the afternoon
of this day.

We were much ridiculed by two gentlemen of the party on announcing our
intended proceedings, for they seemed to think no elephants were near,
and that we were a couple of blockheads for troubling ourselves to go
out. Not regarding these remarks, we started, and having been careful
to select saddles that did not creak and curb-chains that did not
jingle, we advanced with tolerable silence to the part of the forest
from whence emanated the sounds that had shown me in the afternoon the
presence of a troop of elephants. We halted at about two hundred yards
from the tall trees that fringed this part, and listened for any
indications. Our patience was not severely tried, as we heard one or
two branches smashed as none but an elephant could have smashed them.
We immediately took up our position a little nearer, and behind some
bushes, so that we might not be seen by any elephants when they came to
drink at the pools of water near. We waited for nearly half an hour,
plainly hearing the troop feeding at about one hundred yards inside the
bush, and apparently coming towards us. Our horses stood like rocks,
merely pr