92 A HUNTER'S WANDERINGS ch. 



bank, came to a stand, and, turning round, faced his 

 pursuers, throwing the blood in streams from his 

 upraised trunk. Being now close to him, 1 seized 

 my second gun from the Kafir's hands, and was just 

 about to fire, when with a crash this true monarch of 

 the African forest fell, slain by the only living thing 

 that could work him harm — ruthless man. I did not 

 stop a second to contemplate my prize, but kept on 

 at my best pace after the other, who was disappearing 

 over the next ridge, about a hundred and fifty yards 

 in advance. The country being pretty open, we were 

 enabled to keep him in view, although a good distance 

 off ; but the ground was excessively rough under 

 foot, great boulders and stones lying about in every 

 direction, and the way in which the huge beast 

 scrambled over them was truly marvellous. At last 

 he reached a broad dry sand river, with a steep high 

 bank on the farther side, and as he entered it we were 

 still some three hundred yards behind. Now was 

 my chance, and probably my last, for I knew he 

 would lose time in climbing out the other side, but 

 when once up would make the running again, and as 

 it was in the cool of the evening, the Kafirs would 

 stand little chance of getting up and turning him ; 

 so, though terribly blown, I gathered my exhausted 

 energies together for a last effort, and, closely attended 

 by my gun-carrier, made a spurt. As the elephant 

 neared the top, toiling painfully and slowly up, I got 

 to within about one hundred and twenty yards of 

 him, and taking a quick aim, just behind the big ribs 

 as he turned half sideways, fired. " Ingenile ! " (It's 

 gone into him) said the Kafir, and we ran on again, 

 jumping into the bed of the river just as he dis- 

 appeared over the opposite bank. Tired and panting, 

 we toiled across the deep sand of the river bed, and 



