It Was, Therefore, A Perfect Spot For
Deer-Stalking; The Tops Of Trees Formed An Impervious Screen To The
Sun's Rays; And I Passed Several Days In Wandering With My Rifle Through
These Shady Solitudes, Killing An Immense Quantity Of Game.
The deer
were in such masses that I restricted myself to bucks, and I at length
became completely satiated.
There was too much game; during the whole
day's walk I was certainly not FIVE MINUTES without seeing either deer,
elk, buffaloes, or hogs. The noise of the rifle did not appear to scare
them from the forest; they would simply retreat for a time to some other
portion of it, and fresh herds were met with in following up one which
had been disturbed. Still, there were no elephants. Although I had
upwards of fifty coolies and servants, they could not dry the venison
sufficiently fast to prevent the deer from stinking as they were killed,
and I resolved to leave the country.
I gave orders for everything to be packed up in readiness for a start,
after an early breakfast, on the following morning. The servants were
engaged in arranging for the departure, when a native brought
intelligence of a rogue elephant within four miles of the tent. It was
late in the afternoon, but I had not seen an elephant for so long that I
was determined to make his acquaintance. My friend B. accompanied me,
and we immediately started on horseback.
Our route lay across very extensive plains, interspersed with low thorny
bushes and wide salt lakes. Innumerable wild hogs invited us to a chase.
There could not be a better spot for boar-spearing, as the ground is
level and clear for riding. There were numerous herds of deer and
buffaloes, but we did not fire a shot, as we had determined upon an
interview with the rogue. We traversed about four miles of this style of
country, and were crossing a small plain, when our guide suddenly
stopped and pointed to the elephant, who was about a quarter of a mile
distant. He was standing on a little glade of about fifty yards across;
this was surrounded upon all sides but one with dense thorny jungle, and
he therefore stood in a small bay of open ground. It was a difficult
position for an attack. The wind blew directly from us to him, therefore
an advance in that direction was out of the question; on the other hand,
if we made a circuit so as to get the wind, we should have to penetrate
through the thorny jungle to arrive at him, and we should then have the
five o'clock sun directly in our eyes. However, there was no
alternative, and, after a little consultation, the latter plan was
resolved upon.
Dismounting, we ordered the horse-keepers to conceal the horses and
themselves behind a thick bush, lest the elephant should observe them,
and with this precaution we advanced, making a circuit of nearly a mile
to obtain the wind.
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