The entire country bore witness to the effect of violent rains,
as the surface was torn and water-worn.
We had ridden nearly thirty miles, having seen large quantities
of game, including antelopes, buffaloes, giraffes, and
rhinoceroses, none of which we had hunted, as we were in search
of elephants. This was the country where the aggageers had
expected, without fail, to find their game.
They now turned away from the Royan, and descended a sandy valley
at the foot of the mountains, the bottom of which appeared to
have been overflowed during the wet season. Here were large
strips of forest, and numerous sandy watercourses, along the dry
bed of which we quickly discovered the deep tracks of elephants.
They had been digging fresh holes in the sand in search of water,
in which welcome basins we found a good supply; we dismounted,
and rested the horses for half an hour, while the hunters
followed up the tracks on the bed of the stream. Upon their
return, they reported the elephants as having wandered off upon
the rocky ground, that rendered further tracking impossible. We
accordingly remounted, and, upon arrival at the spot where they
had lost the tracks, we continued along the bed of the stream.
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