We went a great way into the forest,
and where he thought fit to stop he bade me alight; then showing me
a great tree, 'Climb up that tree,' said he, 'and shoot at the
elephants as you see them pass by, for there is a prodigious number
of them in this forest, and, if any of them fall, come and give me
notice of it.' Having spoken thus, he left me victuals, and
returned to the town, and I continued upon the tree all night.
I saw no elephant during that time, but next morning, as soon as
the sun was up, I saw a great number: I shot several arrows among
them, and at last one of the elephants fell; the rest retired
immediately, and left me at liberty to go and acquaint my patron
with my booty. When I had told him the news, he gave me a good
meal, commended my dexterity, and caressed me highly. We afterwards
went together to the forest, where we dug a hole for the elephant;
my patron intending to return when it was rotten, and to take the
teeth, etc., to trade with.
I continued this game for two months, and killed an elephant every
day, getting sometimes upon one tree, and sometimes upon another.
One morning, as I looked for the elephants, I perceived with an
extreme amazement that, instead of passing by me across the forest
as usual, they stopped, and came to me with a horrible noise, in
such a number that the earth was covered with them, and shook under
them.
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