Stooping Quickly From The Saddle, He
Picked Up From The Ground A Handful Of Dirt, Which He Threw Into The
Face Of The Vicious-Looking Animal, That Once More Attempted To Rush
Upon Him.
It was impossible!
The foot was dislocated, and turned up in
front like an old shoe. In an instant Taher was once more on foot, and
the sharp sword slashed the remaining leg.
The great bull-elephant could not move! The first cut with the sword had
utterly disabled it; the second was its deathblow. The arteries of the
leg were divided, and the blood spouted in jets from the wounds. I
wished to terminate its misery by a bullet behind the ear, but Taher
Sherrif begged me not to fire, as the elephant would quickly bleed to
death without pain, and an unnecessary shot might attract the Base, who
would steal the flesh and ivory during our absence. We were obliged to
return immediately to our far distant camp, and the hunters resolved to
accompany their camels to the spot on the following day. We turned our
horses' heads, and rode directly toward home, which we did not reach
until nearly midnight, having ridden upward of sixty miles during the
day.
The hunting of Taher Sherrif and his brothers was superlatively
beautiful; with an immense amount of dash there was a cool,
sportsman-like manner in their mode of attack that far excelled the
impetuous and reckless onset of Abou Do. It was difficult to decide
which to admire the more, the coolness and courage of him who led the
elephant, or the extraordinary skill and activity of the aggahr who
dealt the fatal blow.
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