Upon this treacherous surface a man could walk with great care.

Should the thin covering break through, he would be immediately waist-deep in the soft mud.

To plod through this was the elephant's delight.

Smearing a thick coat of the black mud over their whole bodies, they formed a defensive armour against the attacks of mosquitoes, which are the greatest torments that an elephant has to contend with.
I was watching the edge of the forest one afternoon at about four o'clock, when I noticed the massive form of one of these tank rogues stalk majestically from the jungle and proceed through the deep mud towards the lake.

I had the wind, and I commenced stalking him.
Advancing with my two gun-bearers in single file, I crept carefully from tree to tree along the edge of the forest for about a quarter of a mile, until I arrived at the very spot at which he had made his exit from the jungle.
I was now within eighty yards of him as he stood with his head towards the lake and his hind-quarters exactly facing me.