They Now Turned Away From The Royan, And Descended A Sandy Valley
At The Foot Of The Mountains, The Bottom Of Which Appeared To
Have Been Overflowed During The Wet Season.
Here were large
strips of forest, and numerous sandy watercourses, along the dry
bed of which we quickly discovered
The deep tracks of elephants.
They had been digging fresh holes in the sand in search of water,
in which welcome basins we found a good supply; we dismounted,
and rested the horses for half an hour, while the hunters
followed up the tracks on the bed of the stream. Upon their
return, they reported the elephants as having wandered off upon
the rocky ground, that rendered further tracking impossible. We
accordingly remounted, and, upon arrival at the spot where they
had lost the tracks, we continued along the bed of the stream. We
had ridden about a mile, and were beginning to despair, when
suddenly we turned a sharp angle in the watercourse, and Taher
Sheriff, who was leading, immediately reined in his horse, and
backed him towards the party. I followed his example, and we were
at once concealed by the sharp bend of the river. He now
whispered, that a bull elephant was drinking from a hole it had
scooped in the sand, not far round the corner. Without the
slightest confusion, the hunters at once fell quietly into their
respective places, Taher Sheriff leading, while I followed
closely in the line, with my Tokrooris bringing up the rear; we
were a party of seven horses.
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