These were soon procured.

The iron-wood (_Olca undulata_) which grew in abundance in the neighbourhood, furnished the very material; and after three pieces of sufficient length had been cut down with the axe, they were reduced to the proper size, and pointed by the knives of the hunters.
Meanwhile Swartboy had not been idle.

First with his knife he had cut a large section of bark from the elephant's tree, upon the side against which the animal had been in the habit of leaning, and about three feet from the ground.

Then with the axe he made a deep notch, where the bark had been removed--in fact, such a notch as would have caused the tree to fall had it been left to itself.

But it was not, for before advancing so far in his work, Swartboy had taken measures to prevent that.