"Tetel" Was A Grand Horse For Elephants,
Not Having The Slightest Fear, And Standing Fire Like A Rock, Never Even
Starting Under The Discharge Of The Heaviest Charge Of Powder.
I now
commenced reloading, when presently one of my men, Yaseen, came up upon
"Filfil." Taking a spare gun from him, I rode rapidly past the elephant,
and suddenly reining up, I made a good shot exactly behind the
bladebone.
With a shrill scream, the elephant charged down upon me like
a steam-engine. In went the spurs. "Tetel" knew his work, and away he
went over the ruts and gullies, the high dry grass whistling in my ears
as we shot along at full speed, closely followed by the enraged bull for
about two hundred yards.
The elephant then halted; and turning the horse's head, I again faced
him and reloaded. I thought he was dying, as he stood with trunk
drooping, and ears closely pressed back upon his neck. Just at this
moment I heard the rush of elephants advancing through the green bush
upon the rising ground above the hollow formed by the open space of high
withered grass in which we were standing facing each other. My man
Yaseen had bolted with his fleet horse at the first charge, and was not
to be seen. Presently, the rushing sound increased, and the heads of a
closely packed herd of about eighteen elephants showed above the low
bushes, and they broke cover, bearing down directly upon me, both I and
my horse being unobserved in the high grass.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 240 of 662
Words from 65140 to 65400
of 178435