He almost
immediately beckoned us to come up. This we did without loss of
time, and knowing that the game was in view, I ordered the horses
to retire for about a quarter of a mile.
On our arrival on the dam there was a fine sight. The lake was
about five miles round, and was quite full of water, the surface
of which was covered with a scant, but tall, rushy grass. In the
lake, browsing upon the grass, we counted twenty-three elephants,
and there were many little ones, no doubt, that we could not
distinguish in such rank vegetation. Five large elephants were
not more than a hundred and twenty paces distant; the remaining
eighteen were in a long line about a quarter of a mile from the
shore, feeding in deep water.
We were well concealed by the various trees which grew upon the
dam, and we passed half an hour in watching the manoeuvres of the
great beasts as they bathed and sported in the cool water.
However, this was not elephant-shooting, and the question was,
how to get at them? The natives had no idea of the sport, as
they seemed to think it very odd that we did not fire at those
within a hundred paces' distance. I now regretted my absent
gun-bearers, as I plainly saw that these village people would be
worse than useless.
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