Giving The Moormen A Gun, We Took To Our Hiding-Place.
The Men Went Round To The Tank Side Of The Patch Of Jungle, And
Immediately Commenced Shouting And Firing; Securing Themselves From An
Attack By Climbing Into The Highest Trees.
A short interval elapsed, and
not a sound of the elephant could be heard.
The firing and shouting
ceased, and all was as still as death. Some of the Moormen returned from
the jungle, and declared that the elephant was not there; but this was
all nonsense; the fact was, they did not like the idea of driving him
out. Knowing the character of these 'rogues', I felt convinced that he
was one of the worst description, and that he was quietly waiting his
time, until some one should advance within his reach. Having given the
Moormen a supply of powder, I again despatched them to drive the jungle.
Once more the firing and shouting commenced, and continued until their
supply of powder was exhausted: no effects had been produced; it was
getting late, and the rogue appeared determined not to move. A dead
silence ensued, which was presently disturbed by the snapping of a
bough; in another moment the jungle crashed, and forth stepped the
object of our pursuit! He was a magnificent elephant, one of the most
vicious in appearance that I have ever seen; he understood the whole
affair as well as we did; and flourishing his trunk, he paced quickly
backwards and forwards for a few turns before the jungle he had just
quitted; suddenly making his resolution, he charged straight at the bush
behind which we had imagined ourselves concealed. He was about eighty
yards off when he commenced his onset; and seeing that we were
discovered, I left the hiding-place, and stepped to the front of the
bush to meet him with the four-ounce rifle. On he came at a great pace,
carrying his head very high, and making me the sole object of his
attack. I made certain of the shot, although his head was in a difficult
position, and I accordingly waited for him till he was within fifteen
paces. At this distance I took a steady shot and fired. A cloud of
smoke, from the heavy charge of powder, obscured everything, but I felt
so certain that he was down, that I looked under the smoke to see where
he lay. Ye gods! He was just over me in full charge! I had not even
checked him by the shot, and he was within three feet of me, going at a
tremendous pace. Throwing my heavy rifle into the bush, I doubled
quickly to one side, hoping that he would pass me and take to the main
jungle, to which I ran parallel as fast as my legs could carry me.
Instead of taking to the jungle, he turned short and quickly after me,
and a fair race commenced. I had about three feet start of him, and I
saw with delight that the ground was as level and smooth as a lawn;
there was no fear of tripping up, and away I went at the fastest pace
that I ever ran either before or since, taking a look behind me to see
how the chase went on. I saw the bullet-mark in his forehead, which was
covered with blood; his trunk was stretched to its full length to catch
me, and was now within two feet of my back; he was gaining on me,
although I was running at a tremendous pace. I could not screw an inch
more speed out of my legs, and I kept on, with the brute gaining on me
at every stride. He was within a foot of me, and I had not heard a shot
fired, and not a soul had come to the rescue. The sudden thought struck
me that my brother could not possibly overtake the elephant at the pace
at which we were going, and I immediately doubled short to my left into
the open plain, and back towards the guns. The rogue overshot me. I met
my brother close to his tail, which position he had with difficulty
maintained; but he could not get a shot, and the elephant turned into
the jungle, and disappeared just as I escaped him by a sharp turn. This
was a close shave; had not the ground been perfectly level I must have
been caught to a certainty, and even as it was, he would have had me in
another stride had I not turned from my straight course. It was nearly
dark, and we returned to the tent, killing several peacocks and ducks on
our way, with which the country swarmed.
We passed a miserable night, not being able to sleep on account of the
mosquitoes, which were in swarms. I was delighted to see the first beam
of morning, when our little winged enemies left us, and a 'chatty' bath
was most enjoyable after the restless tossings of a sleepless night. The
Moormen were out at dawn to look for elephants, the guns were cleaned,
and I looked forward to the return of the trackers with peculiar
interest, as we had determined to 'catch an elephant.' The Moormen were
all full of excitement and preparation. These men were well practised in
this sport, and they were soon busied in examining and coiling their
hide ropes for the purpose.
At about mid-day the trackers returned, having found a herd about five
miles from the village. We were all ready, and we set off without a
moment's delay, our party consisting of my brother, myself, four
gun-bearers, and about thirty Moormen, each of whom carried a coil of
finely-twisted rope made of thongs of raw deer's hide; these ropes were
each twenty yards in length, and about an inch in diameter.
Having skirted the borders of the tank for about three miles, we turned
into the forest, and continued our route through alternate open and
thick forest, until we at length reached a rough, open country,
interspersed with low jungles.
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