728 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



that does charge, especially a bull, when It has actually 

 begun Its charge, is more dangerous than a lion and much 

 more dangerous than an elephant; that a single elephant is 

 less dangerous to attack than a single buffalo, and that the 

 charge of an elephant is more easily stopped or evaded than 

 that of a buffalo; but that elephants are very much more apt 

 themselves to attack than are buffalo, and that, therefore, 

 there is more danger in the first approach to an elephant 

 herd than is the case with buffalo. If a big tusker is in a 

 herd of cows it may be impossible to kill him, because the 

 cows charge with such savageness as soon as they detect the 

 approach of the hunter — and, of course, a herd is much 

 more apt than a single beast to detect him. At the sound of 

 a shot the cows of a vicious herd, screaming and trumpeting, 

 crash through the jungle in all directions, and may quar- 

 ter to and fro down-wind, trying to catch the scent of their 

 enemy. If a man is caught he is frequently killed ; but often 

 he escapes, for the very hugeness of an elephant's bulk makes 

 it unfit to cope with so small an antagonist. An elephant is 

 more easily turned than a buffalo, when in full charge, al- 

 though an occasional elephant, usually a vicious bull, will 

 charge right through the shots, taking the punishment of the 

 heavy bullets without flinching, and getting home. Of 

 course, a ball that would cripple a charging lion may have 

 no effect on the huge bulk of an elephant or the sinewy 

 mass of a buffalo. 



An elephant that means mischief may charge in silence, 

 the trunk hanging straight down and the great ears cocked 

 at right angles to the head; it may extend the trunk, scream- 

 ing or coming on silently; or it may scream loudly, and make 

 the actual charge with the trunk curled, and this not only 



