Violent Showers Occur Frequently On The Hills,
And Cause Such Sudden Sweeping Floods In These Rivulets, That Five Of Our
Men,
who had gone to the other side for firewood, were obliged to swim back.
The temperature of the air
Is lowered considerably by the daily rains.
Several times the thermometer at sunrise has been as low as 68 Deg.,
and 74 Deg. at sunset. Generally, however, it stood at
from 72 Deg. to 74 Deg. at sunrise, 90 Deg. to 96 Deg. at midday,
and 80 Deg. to 84 Deg. at sunset. The sensation, however, as before remarked,
was not disagreeable.
14TH. We entered a most beautiful valley, abounding in large game.
Finding a buffalo lying down, I went to secure him for our food.
Three balls did not kill him, and, as he turned round as if for a charge,
we ran for the shelter of some rocks. Before we gained them,
we found that three elephants, probably attracted by the strange noise,
had cut off our retreat on that side; they, however, turned short off,
and allowed us to gain the rocks. We then saw that the buffalo was moving off
quite briskly, and, in order not to be entirely balked, I tried a long shot
at the last of the elephants, and, to the great joy of my people,
broke his fore leg. The young men soon brought him to a stand,
and one shot in the brain dispatched him. I was right glad to see
the joy manifested at such an abundant supply of meat.
On the following day, while my men were cutting up the elephant,
great numbers of the villagers came to enjoy the feast.
We were on the side of a fine green valley, studded here and there with trees,
and cut by numerous rivulets. I had retired from the noise,
to take an observation among some rocks of laminated grit,
when I beheld an elephant and her calf at the end of the valley,
about two miles distant. The calf was rolling in the mud,
and the dam was standing fanning herself with her great ears.
As I looked at them through my glass, I saw a long string of my own men
appearing on the other side of them, and Sekwebu came and told me
that these had gone off saying, "Our father will see to-day
what sort of men he has got." I then went higher up the side of the valley,
in order to have a distinct view of their mode of hunting.
The goodly beast, totally unconscious of the approach of an enemy,
stood for some time suckling her young one, which seemed about two years old;
they then went into a pit containing mud, and smeared themselves
all over with it, the little one frisking about his dam,
flapping his ears and tossing his trunk incessantly, in elephantine fashion.
She kept flapping her ears and wagging her tail, as if in
the height of enjoyment.
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