Crossing A Small River Upon The Track, We Entered A Fine
Open Forest, Through Which The Herd Had Only Just Passed, And Upon
Following Them For About A Quarter Of A Mile, We Came To A Barrier Of
Dense Chenar Jungle, Into Which The Elephants Had Retreated.
There was a rogue with this herd, and we were rather doubtful of his
position.
We stood in the open forest, within a few feet of the thick
jungle, to the edge of which the elephants were so close that we could
hear their deep breathing; and by stooping down we could distinguish the
tips of their trunks and feet, although the animals themselves were
invisible. We waited about half an hour in the hope that some of the
elephants might again enter the open forest; at length two, neither of
whom were above five feet high, came out and faced us. My dress of
elastic green tights had become so browned by constant washing and
exposure, that I matched exactly with the stem of a tree against which I
was leaning, and one of the elephants kept advancing towards me until I
could nearly touch him with my rifle; still he did not see me, and I did
not wish to fire, as I should alarm the herd, which would then be lost
for ever. Unfortunately, just at this moment, the other elephant saw
Palliser, and the alarm was given. There was no help for it, and we were
obliged to fire.
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