And in the lower levels of the forest we saw where the Kikuyu women had come up for firewood.

For some strange reason the elephants are not afraid of the native women and will not be disturbed by the sight of one of them.
After seeing the women I am not surprised that they feel that way about it, but I don't see how they can tell the women from the men.

Possibly because they know that only the women do such manual labor as to carry wood.
In the afternoon we reached the bamboos which lie above the forest belt.
Here the ground is clean and heavily carpeted with dry bamboo leaves.
The bamboos grow close together, all seemingly of the same size, and are pervaded with a cool, greenish shadow that is almost sunny in comparison with the deep, solemn shades of the great forest.
Then we struck a trail.

The old Wanderobo guide said it was only an hour or so old and that we should soon overtake the elephant.

It was evidently only one elephant and not a large one.