Get out of him, and he reeled along as
though thoroughly exhausted, plunging in and out of the buffalo holes
instead of jumping them. Hamed was on my horse "Mouse," who went three
to "Tetel's" one, and instead of endeavouring to divert the elephant's
attention, he shot ahead, and thought of nothing but getting out of the
way. Yaseen, on "Filfil," had fled in another direction; thus I had the
pleasure of being hunted down upon a sick and disabled horse. I kept
looking round, thinking that the elephant would give in: - we had been
running for nearly half a mile, and the brute was overhauling me so fast
that he was within ten or twelve yards of the horse's tail, with his
trunk stretched out to catch him. Screaming like the whistle of an
engine, he fortunately so frightened the horse that he went his best,
although badly, and I turned him suddenly down the hill and doubled back
like a hare. The elephant turned up the hill, and entering the jungle he
relinquished the chase, when another hundred yards' run would have
bagged me.
In a life's experience in elephant-hunting, I never was hunted for such
a distance. Great as were Tetel's good qualities for pluck and
steadiness, he had exhibited such distress and want of speed, that I was
sure he failed through some sudden malady. I immediately dismounted, and
the horse laid down, as I thought, to die.
Whistling loudly, I at length recalled Hamed, who had still continued
his rapid flight without once looking back, although the elephant was
out of sight. Yaseen was, of course, nowhere; but after a quarter of an
hour's shouting and whistling, he reappeared, and I mounted Filfil,
ordering Tetel to be led home.
The sun had just sunk, and the two Latookas who now joined me refused to
go farther on the tracks, saying, that the elephant must die during the
night, and that they would find him in the morning. We were at least ten
miles from camp; I therefore fired a shot to collect my scattered men,
and in about half an hour we all joined together, except the camels and
their drivers, that we had left miles behind.
No one had tasted food since the previous day, nor had I drunk water,
although the sun had been burning hot; I now obtained some muddy rain
water from a puddle, and we went towards home, where we arrived at
half-past eight, every one tired with the day's work. The camels came
into camp about an hour later.
My men were all now wonderfully brave; each had some story of a narrow
escape, and several declared that the elephants had run over them, but
fortunately without putting their feet upon them.
