2o6 Journal of Travel and Natural History 



one individual, and to the features of tlieir mind as well as of their 

 countenance. 



Mr Chapman's qualities of coolness, courage, and perseverance 

 are not less prominently shewn in his capacity of hunter. Here is 

 an elephant adventure. It is one of his first encounters with the 

 elephant, and took place before his nerves were hardened to the 

 degree they afterwards became : — 



" The troop, finding their prostrate fellow deaf to their entreaties, moved on, 

 and I soon followed, but was repeatedly driven back by a worthless old hag of 

 a cow (elephant), who, with the air of a vixen, would not allow me to come 

 near the troop ; and I found it was necessary to kill her first, if I wished to get 

 at the rest. So dashing towards them she turned upon me just as I had dis- 

 mounted, uttering a fearful cry. This was a desperate move ; it sealed her fate, 

 though mine seemed in greater jeopardy. My horse, terrified at the elephant's 

 thrilling cry, pulled the reins out of my hand, and left me on the open plain, 

 staring death in the face, without any cover to flee to. At this critical moment, 

 I despaired of life ; but presence of mind, together with unusual firmness, were 

 now vouchsafed to me. I felt I had but one chance for life, and that I now 

 held in my hand. Now for courage and a steady shot. It was the courage of 

 despair, and it was Providence that directed my aim. I awaited the furious 

 animal's approach, with my gim at my shoulder ; but my hand shook so violently 

 that I could take no sure aim, and I felt reluctant to pull the trigger. 



"Still the enemy approached with outstretched trunk ; her loud trampeting 

 iiad ceased, but she uttered a series of short-fetched gi'unts, which sounded in 

 my ears like an exclamation of triumph at having her enemy in her power — a 

 victim she would grasp in another moment with her powerful trunk, and crush 

 to atoms with her ponderous feet. At this juncture, she happened to lower her 

 trunk from before her ; and the slight movement leaving her forehead exposed, 

 I instantly took advantage of it, and a bullet from my rifle crashed right into 

 the centre of her skull, and she came down with overwhelming violence at the 

 distance of seven paces from the spot where I was planted. But if before I 

 had been sustained by Providence, and, indeed, I felt that something beyond 

 my physical power had saved me, I now lost all my fortitude, and stood for 

 a moment perfectly aghast, trembling, and most horribly bewildered. 



"But, now, again recovering myself, and inspired by the first law of nature, 

 to lose no time in retreating from a possible death-struggle with my now pro- 

 strate foe, I ran to my horse, standing at the distance of 200 yards, and cocking 

 his cars in amazement at the fray. I then reloaded, and began to speculate on 

 the prudence of following the rest of the troop." — (vol. i. p. 84.) 



A terrible warning of the danger of elephant hunting on foot is 

 given in the death of Dr Wahlberg, who fell a victim to this fashion 

 of hunting, and of whose tragic end an account by his companion, 

 Mr Green, is quoted in these volumes. 



Professor Wahlberg and his expedition were better known to 

 scientific men than is often the case with foreign expeditions, at 

 least during their progress. He was in relation with the Univer- 



