We Had Not Been Half
An Hour In The Dhurra Fields Before We Met A Couple Of Arab Watchers,
Who Informed Us That A Herd Of Elephants Was Already In The Plantation;
We Accordingly Followed Our Guides.
In about a quarter of an hour we
distinctly heard the cracking of the dhurra stems, as the elephants
browsed and trampled them beneath their feet.
Taking the proper position of the wind, I led our party cautiously in
the direction of the sound, and in about five minutes I came in view of
the slate-colored and dusky forms of the herd. The moon was bright, and
I counted nine elephants; they had trampled a space of about fifty yards
square into a barren level, and they were now slowly moving forward,
feeding as they went. One elephant, unfortunately, was separated from
the herd, and was about forty yards in the rear; this fellow I was
afraid would render our approach difficult. Cautioning my men,
especially Bacheet, to keep close to me with the spare rifles, I crept
along the alleys formed by the tall rows of dhurra, and after carefully
stalking against the wind, I felt sure that it would be necessary to
kill the single elephant before I should be able to attack the herd.
Accordingly I crept nearer and nearer, well concealed in the favorable
crop of high and sheltering stems, until I was within fifteen yards of
the hindmost animal. As I had never shot one of the African species, I
was determined to follow the Ceylon plan, and get as near as possible;
therefore I continued to creep from row to row of dhurra, until I at
length stood at the very tail of the elephant in the next row. I could
easily have touched it with my rifle, but just at this moment it either
obtained my wind or it heard the rustle of the men. It quickly turned
its head half round toward me; in the same instant I took the
temple-shot, and by the flash of the rifle I saw that it fell. Jumping
forward past the huge body, I fired the left-hand barrel at an elephant
that had advanced from the herd; it fell immediately! Now came the
moment for a grand rush, as they stumbled in confusion over the last
fallen elephant, and jammed together in a dense mass with their immense
ears outspread, forming a picture of intense astonishment! Where were my
spare guns? Here was an excellent opportunity to run in and floor them
right and left!
Not a man was in sight! Everybody had bolted, and I stood in advance of
the dead elephant calling for my guns in vain. At length one of my
fellows came up, but it was too late. The fallen elephant in the herd
had risen from the ground, and they had all hustled off at a great pace,
and were gone. I had only bagged one elephant. Where was the valiant
Bacheet - the would-be Nimrod, who for the last three months had been
fretting in inactivity, and longing for the moment of action, when he
had promised to be my trusty gun-bearer?
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