There Were Two Elephants Facing
Us, And The Herd, Which Consisted Of Seven, Were Tolerably Close
Together, With The Exception Of One, Who Was About Thirty Yards Apart
From The Main Body; This Fellow We Determined To Catch.
We therefore
arranged that our gun-bearers and four rope-carriers should accompany
us, while the remaining portion of our party should lie in reserve to
come to our assistance when required, as so large a body of men could
not possibly stalk the herd without being discovered.
Falling upon our
hands and knees, we crept between the grassy ant-hills towards the two
leading elephants, who were facing us. The wind was pretty brisk, and
the ant-hills effectually concealed us till we were within seven paces
of our game. The two leaders then both dropped dead to the front shot,
and the fun began. The guns were so well handed up, that we knocked over
the six elephants before they had given us a run of twenty yards, and we
all closed up and ran under the tail of the retreating elephant that we
had devoted to the ropes. He was going at about seven miles an hour; we
therefore had no difficulty in keeping up with him, as we could run
between the ant-hills much faster than he could. The ropes were in
readiness, and with great dexterity, one of the Moormen slipped a noose
over one of his hind feet, as he raised it from the ground; and drawing
it tight, he dropped his coil. We all halted, and allowed the
unconscious elephant to run out his length of line; this he soon did,
and the rope trailed after him like a long snake, we all following at
about the centre of the length of rope, or twenty paces behind him. He
was making for the jungle, which was not far distant, and we were
running him like a pack of hounds, but keeping a gun in readiness, lest
he should turn and charge. He at length reached the wooded bank of a dry
river, and thick rattan jungle bordered the opposite side; he thought he
was safe, and he plunged down the crumbling bank. We were a little too
quick for him, by taking a double turn round a tree with the slack end
of the rope just as he descended the bank; the effect of this was to
bring him to a sudden standstill, and the stretching of the hide rope
threw him upon his knees. He recovered himself immediately, and used
extraordinary efforts to break away; tightening the rope to its utmost
length, he suddenly lifted up his tied leg and threw his whole weight
forward. Any but a hide rope of that diameter must have given way, but
this stretched like a harp-string, and at every effort to break it, the
yielding elasticity of the hide threw him upon his head, and the sudden
contraction after the fall, jerked his leg back to its full length.
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