VI A HEAVY CHARGE 105 



right, I made a cut with my two gun-bearers, whilst 

 W, kept in their wake. Fortune favoured me, for 

 they turned just as I had expected, and I got a 

 splendid broadside shot as they passed along the 

 farther side of a little gully not forty yards off. 

 The Kafir having, as he ran, reloaded the gun which 

 I had already discharged and on which I placed most 

 dependence, I fired with it at the foremost elephant, 

 an enormous animal with long white tusks, when he 

 was exactly opposite to me. My boy had put in 

 the powder with his hand, and must have overloaded 

 it, for the recoil knocked me down, and the gun 

 itself flew out of my hands. Owing to this, I lost 

 a little time ; for when I got hold of my second gun 

 the elephants had turned back again (excepting the 

 one just hit) towards W, and the Kafirs. However, 

 I gave another a bullet behind the big ribs as he was 

 running obliquely away from me. The first, which 

 I had hit right in the middle of the shoulder, was 

 now walking very slowly up a steep hill, looking as 

 though he were going to fall every instant ; but, 

 nevertheless (as until an elephant is actually dead, 

 there is no knowing how far he may go), I determined 

 to finish him before returning to the others. On 

 reaching the top of the hill, and hearing me coming 

 on not a dozen yards behind him, the huge beast 

 wheeled round, and, raising his gigantic ears, looked 

 ruefully towards me. Poor beast, he was doubtless too 

 far gone to charge, and, on receiving another ball in 

 the chest, he stepped slowly backwards, and then 

 sinking on to his haunches, threw his trunk high 

 into the air and rolled over on his side, dead. 



During this time, the remainder of the elephants, 

 harried and bewildered by the continuous firing of 

 W. and our little army of native hunters, had come 



