We straightened our backs and breathed a sigh of relief. This happened
over and over again. At certain times of year also elephants frequent
the banks of the Tsavo in considerable numbers We saw many old signs,
and once came upon the fresh path of a small herd. The great beasts had
passed by that very morning. We gazed with considerable awe on limbs
snatched bodily from trees; on flat-topped acacias a foot in diameter
pulled up by the roots and stood up side down; on tree trunks twisted
like ropes.

Of the game by far the most abundant were the beautiful red impalla. We
caught glimpses of their graceful bodies gliding in and out of sight
through the bushes; or came upon them standing in small openings, their
delicate ears pointed to us. They and the tiny dikdik furnished our
table; and an occasional water-buck satisfied the men. One day we came
on one of the latter beasts sound asleep in a tiny open space. He was
lying down, and his nose rested against the earth just like a very old
family horse in a paddock.

Besides these common species were bush-buck wart-hog, lesser kudu,
giraffe, and leopard. The bush-buck we jumped occasionally quite near at
hand. They ducked their heads low and rushed tearingly to the next
cover. The leopard was heard sighing every night, and saw their pad
marks next day; but only twice did we catch glimpses of them. One
morning we came upon the fresh-killed carcass of a female lesser kudu
from which, evidently, we had driven the slayer.

These few species practically completed the game list. They were
sufficient for our needs; and the lesser kudu was a prize much desired
for our collection. But by far the most interesting to me were the
smaller animals, the birds, and the strange, innumerable insects.