From his spoor the Bushman knew he had been in the habit of so standing.
His head was turned from the hunters, but not so much as to prevent them from seeing a pair of splendid tusks,--six feet long at the least.
While gazing in admiration at these rich trophies, they saw the animal point his proboscis upward, and discharge a vast shower of water into the leaves, which afterwards fell dripping in bright globules over his body! Swartboy said that he drew the water from his stomach.

Although closet-naturalists deny this, it must have been so; for shortly after, he repeated the act again and again--the quantity of water at each discharge being as great as before.

It was plain that his trunk, large as it was, could not have contained it all.
He seemed to enjoy this "shower-bath;" and the hunters did not wonder at it, for they themselves, suffering at the time from heat and thirst, would have relished something of a similar kind.

As the crystal drops fell back from the acacia leaves, the huge animal was heard to utter a low grunt expressive of gratification.

The hunters hoped that this was the prelude to his sleep, and watched him with intense earnestness.
It proved to be so.
As they sat gazing, they noticed that his head sunk a little, his ears ceased their flapping, his tail hung motionless, and his trunk, now twined around his tusks, remained at rest.
They gaze intently.