Nimble As Monkeys, Nevertheless The
Aggageers Could Not Get Behind Him.
In the folly of excitement they had
forsaken their horses, which had escaped from the spot.
The depth of the
loose sand was in favor of the elephant, and was so much against the men
that they avoided his charges with extreme difficulty. It was only by
the determined pluck of all three that they alternately saved each
other, as two invariably dashed in at the flanks when the elephant
charged the third, upon which the wary animal immediately relinquished
the chase and turned round upon his pursuers. During this time I had
been laboring through the heavy sand, and shortly after I arrived at the
fight the elephant charged directly through the aggageers, receiving a
shoulder-shot from one of my Reilly No. 10 rifles, and at the same time
a slash from the sword of Abou Do, who with great dexterity and speed
had closed in behind him, just in time to reach the leg. Unfortunately,
he could not deliver the cut in the right place, as the elephant, with
increased speed, completely distanced the aggageers, then charged across
the deep sand and reached the jungle. We were shortly upon his tracks,
and after running about a quarter of a mile he fell dead in a dry
watercourse. His tusks were, like those of most Abyssinian elephants,
exceedingly short, but of good thickness.
Some of our men, who had followed the runaway horses, shortly returned
and reported that during our fight with the bull they had heard other
elephants trumpeting in the dense nabbuk jungle near the river.
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