This hole filled, he heaped a pile of fagots on it
a foot in height, and set fire to it.
Then he went back to the carcass of the elephant,
which had fallen only about a hundred feet from the edge
of the forest; he next proceeded adroitly to cut off the
trunk, which might have been two feet in diameter at the
base; of this he selected the most delicate portion, and
then took with it one of the animal's spongy feet. In fact,
these are the finest morsels, like the hump of the bison, the
paws of the bear, and the head of the wild boar.
When the pile of fagots had been thoroughly consumed,
inside and outside, the hole, cleared of the cinders
and hot coals, retained a very high temperature. The
pieces of elephant-meat, surrounded with aromatic leaves,
were placed in this extempore oven and covered with hot
coals. Then Joe piled up a second heap of sticks over all,
and when it had burned out the meat was cooked to a turn.
Then Joe took the viands from the oven, spread the
savory mess upon green leaves, and arranged his dinner
upon a magnificent patch of greensward. He finally
brought out some biscuit, some coffee, and some cognac,
and got a can of pure, fresh water from a neighboring
streamlet.
The repast thus prepared was a pleasant sight to behold,
and Joe, without being too proud, thought that it
would also be pleasant to eat.
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