Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1908-09-03

me in a body, and said that II wanted
10 follow those elephants I must follow
them myself, for they would not go.
l argued with them, and affected to
be much put out.
The elephants were close at hand, l
said; was sure of it. l had heard
them trumpet in the night.
Yes. answered the men, mysteriously; ;
they too had heard things in the night
things not nice to hear they had
heard the spooks out shooting, and no
longer would they remain i'll a coun'
try so vilely haunted.
1t was nonsense, replied.
If ghosts went out shooting, surely
they would use air-guns and no black
powder, and one would not hear an
air-gun.
Well, IL they were towards and
would not come, Of course l could
not force them to, but would make
bargain with them.
| They should follow those elephants
for onehalf hour more; then, il we
failed to come upon them, | would
! abandon the pursuit. and we would 60
straight to Wambe chief of the Matu-
ku, and give him hongo.
To this compromise the men readily
| agreed. Accordingly about half an
| hour later we struck our camp and
started, and Notwithstanding my aches
| and bruises, do not think that | ever
J felt in better spirits in my life.
1t is something to wake up in the
| morning and remember that in the
dead of night one has. single-hnnded.
| given battle to and overthrown three
of the largest elephants in Africa,
Staying them with three bullets.
Such feat had never to my knowl'
edge been done before. and on that
! particular morning felt very "tall
man of my hands" indeed.
The only thing that feared was That
should | ever come to tell the story.
nobody would believe it. for when Il
strange tale is told by a hunter, people
! are apt to think 1t necessarily lie.
instead of being only probably so.
} Well, we passed on. till. having
crossed the first glade where | had
seen the lions, we reached the neck or
! bush that separated it from the second
glade where the dead elephants were.
And here I began to take elaborate
precautions, among others ordering
Goho to keep some yards ahead and
| look out sharp. as | thought that the
elephants might be about.
He obeyed my instructions with SUI
| perior smile, and pushed ahead.
Presently | saw him pull UP as
! though he had been shot, and begin
| to family snap his fingers.
WHAT is it:' whispered.
1.-The elephant, the great elephant
| with one tusk, kneeling down.
There knclt the bull as Lad eft
him last night, and there. too, lny the
| other bulls.
do these elephants s!eep?" I vh!s.
| pered to the astonishcd Gobo.
Yes, Macumazahn, they sleep.
"Nay, Gobo; they are dead"
Dead? How can they bc dead?
! Who killed them?"
| WHAT do people call me. Coho?'
"They call you Macumazahn.
".And what does Macumazahn
! mean?"
| 1T means the man who keeps his
| eyes open, the man who gets W in the
night"
"Yes, and l am that man.
| lauu
"While you slept last night l rose,
and alone hunted those great elephants,
and slew them by the moonlight
ITO each of them gave one bullet,
and only one, and it fell dead.
Look and | advanced into the
| glade, there is my spoor, and here is
the spoor of the great beast charging
| after me, and there Is the tree that
took refuge behind
"See, the elephant shattered it In
his charge.
"Oh, you towards. you who would
give up the chase while the blood spoor
steamed beneath your nostrils, see
what I did single-handed while you
slept, and be ashamed"
"Ou," said the man~"ou. koos
koos, Y umcool" (chlef. mighty chief)'
and then they held their tongues, and
going up to the three dead beasts,
gazed upon them In silence.
But after that those men looked upon
me with awe as being almost more
than mortal
! ~ .,ere man, they said, could have
Slain those three elephants alone III the
night time.
| never had any further trouble with
them.
believe that IL had told them to
Jump over precipice and that they
would take no harm, they would have
believed me.
Well, l went up and examined the
bulls.
Such tusks as they had never saw
and shall never see again.
1t took us all day to cut them out,
and when they reached Delagoa Bay,
as they did ultimately, though not in
my keeping. the single tusk of the big
bull scaled 100 poundsa most wonder
full. indeed an almost unprecedented.
lot of ivory.
Unfortunately. was forced to saw
the big tusk in two. otherwise we could
not have carried it.
"Oh. Quatermain. you barbarian" |
oroke In here; 'the idea of spelling
such tusk!
"Why, would have kept 1t whole II
I had been obliged to drag it myself