The elephant then threw up its head, and with the ears flapping forward it raised its trunk for an instant, and then slowly but easily ascended the steep bank and retreated.

The aggageers now halted for about a minute to confer together, and then followed in their original order up the crumbled bank.

We were now on most unfavorable ground; the fire that had cleared the country we had hitherto traversed had been stopped by the bed of the torrent.

We were thus plunged at once into withered grass above our heads, unless we stood in the stirrups.
The ground was strewn with fragments of rock, and altogether it was ill-adapted for riding.
However, Taher Sherrif broke into a trot, followed by the entire party, as the elephant was not in sight.

We ascended a hill, and when near the summit we perceived the elephant about eighty yards ahead.