Elephant-Hunting in East Equatorial Africa; Being an Account of Three Years' Ivory-Hunting Under Mount Kenia and Among the Ndorobo Savages of the Loro

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1898 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XVIII EL BOGOI TO MOMBASA A mountain excursion--A troublesome lion--My gun-bearer's tragic end--Threehorned giraffe--Grevy's zebra--Varieties of oryx--Suggestion for British Museum--Equatorial elephants: their size, tusks, and peculiarity--Dimensions of rhinoceros and zebra--Ndorobo conception of the Deity--A native's expectation--Description of country--Parting with Ndorobos--Skittish pack-animals-- A compulsory action--Ikutha--Wakamba raiders--Wasanya hunting weapons --A long march--Entering Mombasa--A picturesque procession--Payment of carriers--Valedictory retrospect. I HAVE not much more that can interest to relate of this journey. My hand had gradually healed; so that, though the fingers were still stiff and interfered somewhat with my command of the trigger, I could shoot once more, if not quite up to my previous form. The return of the mail men made it possible, now that the lions were disposed of, for me to make another excursion, to fill up the interval before the return of the caravan from Ukambani should allow of our making a final start for the coast. The second visit which I now made to the western side of the Lorogis, the main purpose of which was to procure some specimens, with the chance also of obtaining a little more ivory, was even more fruitless than the former one, and need not be further alluded to were it not for a calamity which overtook us there, in the loss of my gun-bearer Squareface. Baithai, with another Ndorobo, accompanied me. He unfortunately took us somewhat out of our way on the second morning, after sleeping in the mountain forest on the summit of the range; so that we did not reach the stream on which I meant to camp, in the open just outside the forest, till noon. My intention was to make a...