When He Turned, I At Once
Returned To The Attack; But He Entered A Thick Thorny Jungle Through
Which No Horse Could Follow, And I Failed To Obtain A Shot.
I was looking for a path through which I could penetrate the bush, when
I suddenly heard natives shouting in the direction where I had left the
wounded bull.
Galloping towards the spot, I met a few scattered natives;
among others, Adda. After shouting for some time, at length Yaseen
appeared upon my horse Filfil; he had fled as usual when he saw the
troop of elephants advancing, and no one knows how far he had ridden
before he thought it safe to look behind him. With two mounted gun-
bearers and five others on foot I had been entirely deserted through the
cowardice of my men. The elephant that I had left as dying, was gone.
One of the Latookas had followed upon his tracks, and we heard this
fellow shouting in the distance. I soon overtook him, and he led rapidly
upon the track through thick bushes and high grass. In about a quarter
of an hour we came up with the elephant; he was standing in bush, facing
us at about fifty yards' distance, and immediately perceiving us, he
gave a saucy jerk with his head, and charged most determinedly. It was
exceedingly difficult to escape, owing to the bushes which impeded the
horse, while the elephant crushed them like cobwebs: however, by turning
my horse sharp round a tree, I managed to evade him after a chase of
about a hundred and fifty yards. Disappearing in the jungle after his
charge, I immediately followed him. The ground was hard, and so trodden
by elephants that it was difficult to single out the track. There was no
blood upon the ground, but only on the trees every now and then, where
he had rubbed past them in his retreat. After nearly two hours passed in
slowly following upon his path, we suddenly broke cover and saw him
travelling very quietly through an extensive plain of high grass. The
ground was gently inclining upwards on either side the plain, but the
level was a mass of deep, hardened ruts, over which no horse could
gallop. Knowing my friend's character, I rode up the rising ground to
reconnoitre: I found it tolerably clear of holes, and far superior to
the rutty bottom. My two mounted gun-bearers had now joined me, and far
from enjoying the sport, they were almost green with fright, when I
ordered them to keep close to me and to advance.
I wanted them to attract the elephant's attention, so as to enable me to
obtain a good shoulder shot. Riding along the open plain, I at length
arrived within about fifty yards of the bull, when he slowly turned.
Reining "Tetel" up, I immediately fired a steady shot at the shoulder
with the Reilly No. 10: - for a moment he fell upon his knees, but,
recovering with wonderful quickness, he was in full charge upon me.
Fortunately I had inspected my ground previous to the attack, and away I
went up the inclination to my right, the spurs hard at work, and the
elephant screaming with rage, GAINING on me.
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