Nevertheless, They
Did Not Attempt To Retreat, But Stood Gazing Attentively At Us With
Their Ears Cocked, Looking Extremely Vicious.
In the meantime, we stood
perfectly motionless, lest we should scare them before the whole herd
had closed up.
In about a minute, a dense mass of elephants had
collected round the two leaders, who were all gazing at us; and thinking
this a favourable moment, I gave the word, and we pushed towards them
through the high grass. A portion of the herd immediately wheeled round
and retreated as we advanced, but five elephants, including the two who
had first discovered us, formed in a compact line abreast, and thrashing
the long grass to the right and left with their trunks, with ears cocked
and tails up, they came straight at us. We pushed forward to meet them,
but they still came on in a perfect line, till within ten paces of us.
A cloud of smoke hung over the high grass as the rifles cracked in rapid
succession, and the FIVE ELEPHANTS LAY DEAD in the same order as they
had advanced. The spare guns had been beautifully handed; and running
between the carcasses, we got into the lane that the remaining portion
of the herd had made by crushing the high grass in their retreat. We
were up with them in a few moments; down went one! then another! up he
got again, almost immediately recovering from V.'s shot; down he went
again! as I floored him with my last barrel.
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