The ammunition for the rifles was on a
shelf that formed the rack, contained in a small bag with a simple
reload, and a large bag with a considerable supply. The small bag was
intended for the deck, should I call suddenly for a rifle.
Seeing that the elephants were so near, I at once ordered my horse,
"Greedy Grey," to be saddled, and the rifles and ammunition to be sent
after me. My servant, Suleiman, who had started with me from Alexandria,
was an honest, good creature, but so exceedingly nervous that he was
physically useless in any sudden emergency. The climate of the marshes
during our long voyage had so affected his nervous system, that any
alarm or start would set him trembling to such an extent, that his teeth
chattered as though he had been bathing in iced water. However, there
was no time to lose, as I expected that should the elephants observe our
vessels, and the troops in their scarlet uniform, they would immediately
wheel round and be off, at the pace which an African elephant knows so
well how to use.
I quickly mounted "Greedy Grey" and told Suleiman to send on my rifles
directly, with ammunition.
I ordered my men to run up the heights, and to come down at about 200
paces in the rear of the elephants, where they were to form a line as
though in skirmishing order.
