There was a gentle rise in the ground within
thirty paces of the spot upon which they stood; and to this place I
directed my steps with great care, hiding in the high grass as I crept
towards them.
During the whole of this time, guns were firing without intermission in
the direction taken by Palliser and Wortley, thus keeping my game
terribly on the qui vive. What they were firing so many shots at, I
could not conceive.
At length I reached the rising ground. The moment that I was discovered
by them, the two largest elephants came towards me, with their ears
cocked and their trunks raised.
I waited for a second or two till they lowered their trunks, which they
presently did; and taking a steady shot with one of my doubled-barrelled
No. 10 rifles, I floored them both by a right and left. One, however,
immediately recovered, and, with the blood streaming from his forehead,
he turned and retreated with the remainder of the herd at great speed
through the high grass.
The chase required great caution. However, they fortunately took to a
part of the country where the grass was not higher than my shoulders,
and I could thus see well over it. Through this, I managed to keep
within fifty yards of the herd, and I carried the heavy four-ounce
rifle, which I knew would give one of them a benefit if he turned to
charge.
I was following the herd at this distance when they suddenly halted, and
the wounded elephant turned quickly round, and charged with a right good
intention. He carried his head thrown back in such a position that I
could not get a fair shot, but, nevertheless, the four-ounce ball
stopped him, and away he went again with the herd at full speed, the
blood gushing in streams from the wound in his head.
My four-ounce is a splendid rifle for loading quickly, it being so thick
in the metal that the deep groove catches the belt of the ball
immediately. I was loaded in a few seconds, and again set off in
pursuit; I saw the herd at about 200 yards distant; they had halted, and
they had again faced about.
I had no sooner approached within sixty paces of them, than the wounded
elephant gave a trumpet, and again rushed forward out of the herd. His
head was so covered with blood, and was still thrown back in such a
peculiar position, that I could not get a shot at the exact mark. Again
the four-ounce crashed through his skull, and, staggered with the blow,
he once more turned and retreated with the herd.
Loading quickly, I poured the powder down AD LIBITUN, and ran after the
herd, who had made a circuit to arrive in the same forest in which we
had first found them. A sharp run brought me up to them; but upon seeing
me they immediately stopped, and, without a moment's pause, round came
my old antagonist again, straight at me, with his head still raised in
the same knowing position. The charge of powder was so great that it
went off like a young fieldpiece, and the elephant fell upon his knees;
but, again recovering himself, he turned and went off at such a pace
that he left the herd behind, and in a few minutes I was within twenty
yards of them; I would not fire, as I was determined to bag my wounded
bird before I fired a single shot at another.
They now reached the forest, but, instead of retreating, the wounded
elephant turned short round upon the very edge of the jungle and faced
me; the remaining portion of the herd (consisting of two large elephants
and two calves) had passed on into the cover.
This was certainly a plucky elephant; his whole face was a mass of
blood, and he stood at the very spot where the herd had passed into the
forest, as though he was determined to guard the entrance. I was now
about twenty-five yards from him, when, gathering himself together for a
decisive charge, he once more came on.
I was on the point of pulling the trigger, when he reeled, and fell
without a shot, from sheer exhaustion; but recovering himself
immediately, he again faced me, but did not move. This was a fatal
pause. He forgot the secret of throwing his head back, and he now held
it in the natural position, offering a splendid shot at about twenty
yards. Once more the four-ounce buried itself in his skull, and he fell
dead.
Palliser and Wortley came up just as I was endeavouring to track up the
herd, which I had now lost sight of in the forest. Following upon their
tracks, we soon came in view of them. Away we went as fast as we could
run towards them, but I struck my shin against a fallen tree, which cut
me to the bone, and pitched me upon my head. The next moment, however,
we were up with the elephants: they were standing upon a slope of rock
facing us, but regularly dumbfounded at their unremitting pursuit; they
all rolled over to a volley as we came up, two of them being calves.
Palliser killed the two biggest right and left, he being some paces in
advance.
This was one of the best hunts that I have ever shared in. The chase had
lasted for nearly an hour. There had been thirteen elephants originally
in the herd, every one of which had been bagged by fair running.
