Waterbury evening Democrat., 1890-01-07
THE STRANGE STORY
 or Allan QuatoTmain'S Wife
BY II. RIDE1: HAGGAHD,

Bh H. RIDER HAGGAED.
 experiences ever heard any thing to equal the sound they made as they crashed through and over tho shrubs and trees. Before them was dense forest belt from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet in width. As they rushed on it fell, so that behind them was noth- ing but level roadway strewed with 1allen trunks, crushed branches, and here and there tree, too strong even for them, left standing amid the wreck. On they went, and, notwithstanding the nature of the ground over which they had to travel, they kept their distance ahead of us. This sort of thing con- tinued for a milo or more, and then saw that in front of the elephants the valley opened into space covered with reeds and grass-ft might have been five or six acres in extent-beyond which the valley ran on again.
 The herd reached the edge of this ex- panse, and for a moment pulled up, hes itating-evidently they mistrusted it. My men yelled aloud as only Kaffirs can, and that settled them. Headed by tho wounded bull, whose martial ardor, like my own, was somewhat cooled, they spread out and dashed into the treach- erous swamp, for such it was, though just 1aen there was no water to be seen. For few yards all went well with them, though they clearly found it heavy going; then suddenly the great bull sunk up to his belly in the stiff, peaty soil, and remained fixed. The others, mad with fear, took no heed of his struggles and trumpetings, but plunged on to meet the same fate. In five min utes the whole herd of them was hope lessly begged, the more they struggled to escape the deepcr they sank. There was ono exception, indeed, a COW with calf managed to win back to firm shore, aRd, lifting her trunk, prepared to charge as we came up. But at that mo- ment she heard the scream of her calf, and rushed back to its assistance, only to be begged with the others.
 Such scene I never saw before or since. The swamp was spotted all over with the largo forms of tho elephants, and the air rang with their screams of rage and terror as they waved their trunks wildly to and fro. Now and again monster would make a great ef- fort to drag his mass from it's peaty bed, only to stick fast again at the next
 
 though one that gladdened the hearts of my mon. Even the best natives have little compassion for tue sufferings of animals.
 Well, tho rest was easy The marsh that would not bear tho elephants car ricd our weight well enough. Before midnight all were dead, for we shot them by moonlight. I would gladly have spared the young ones and some of tho COWS, but to do so would only have meant leaving them to perish of hunger; 1t was kinder to kill them at once. The wounded bull 1 slew with my own hand, and l can not say I felt much compunc- tion in doing so. He knew mo again, and madc a dcspera te effort to get at me. but am glad to say the peat held him fast.
 Tho pan presented a curious sight when the sun rose next morning. OT3iny to the support given by the soil nonp of the dead elephants had fallen; thcrn they all stood as though they were asleep.
 l sent back for the wagons, and when they arrived on tho morrow formed 9 camp, about d mile away from tho pa;I. Then began the work of cutting out the elephants tuSkS; it took over week, and for obvious reasons was disgusting task. Indeed, had it not been for the help of some wandering bushm4l, who took their pay in elephant meat, I do not think we could ever have managed it.
 At last it was done. Tho ivory was far too cumbersome for us to carry, so we buried it, having first got rid of our