They had hardly gained it when the mass came forward in a cloud of dust, and with a noise almost inconceivable, scrambling and rolling to and fro as they passed on in a close-wedged body.  Many were wounded and tottering, and as they were left behind, the Caffres, naked, with their assaguays in their hands, leaping forward and hiding, as required, running with the greatest activity close up to the rear of the animals, either pierced them with their assaguays, or hamstrung them with their sharp-cutting weapons, crying out in their own tongue to the elephants, “Great captain! don’t kill us—­don’t tread upon us, mighty chief!”—­supplicating, strangely enough, the mercy of those to whom they were showing none.  As it was almost impossible to fire without a chance of hitting a Caffre, our travelers contented themselves with looking on, till the whole herd had passed by, and had disappeared in the jungle below.

“They have gone right in the direction of the wagons,” said Swinton.

“Yes, sir,” replied the Hottentot, Bremen; “but we must not interfere with them any more; they are now so scattered in the jungle, that it would be dangerous.  We must let them go away as fast as they can.”

They remained for a few minutes more, till every elephant and Caffre had disappeared, and then went back cautiously to the spot from whence they had first fired, and where they had such a fine prospect of the valley.  Not an elephant was to be seen in it; nothing but the ravages which the herd had committed upon the trees, many of which, of a very large size, had been borne to the ground by the enormous strength of these animals.  They then proceeded to the spot where the great bull elephant had fallen by the rifle of Major Henderson.

They found that the ball had entered just under the eye.  It was a monster that must have stood sixteen feet high by Bremen’s calculation, and it had two very fine tusks.  While they were standing by the carcass of the animal, the armed Hottentots returned from the pursuit, and stated that seven elephants had been dispatched, and others were so wounded that they could not live.  They now set to work to take the teeth out of the animal, and were very busy, when a Hottentot came running up, and reported that the herd of elephants in their retreat had dashed through the camp, and done a good deal of mischief; that a male elephant had charged the wagon of Major Henderson, and had forced his tusk through the side; that the tusk had pierced one of the casks of liquor, which was running out, although not very fast, and that the wagon must be unloaded to get out the cask and save the rest of the liquor.

Several Hottentots immediately hurried back with him to help in unloading the wagon, and by degrees they all slipped away except Bremen, Swanevelt, who was cutting out the tusks, and Omrah, who remained perched upon the huge carcass of the animal, imitating the trumpeting and motions of the elephant, and playing all sorts of antics.  A party of Caffres soon afterward came up and commenced cutting up the carcass, and then our travelers walked away in the direction of the camp, to ascertain what mischief had been done.