IX PLUCKY ELEPHANT CALF 173 



have brought the elephants to, as only a few hundred 

 yards farther on we came up to them all standing. 

 One of them, a splendid cow, brought her trunk 

 round with a sweep, and trumpeted, probably to call 

 the little calf, which was now behind us. As she 

 did this, she offered me a splendid shot, for I was 

 now within eighty yards, so I gave her a four- 

 ounce bullet, which catching her just behind the 

 shoulder, must, I think, have passed through her 

 heart, and smashed her off-leg, as she came to the 

 ground with a crash, and never rose again. At the 

 shot the rest of the herd rushed away at a tremendous 

 pace ; I had already had a good run on the spoor, 

 and running in this heavy sand, and under a tropical 

 sun, is no joke ; however, I managed to get pretty 

 well up to them again, and gave the best cow I 

 could see a ball on the hip. She at once left the 

 herd, and followed by a good-sized calf, started off 

 at a long swinging walk, that gave me all my work 

 to keep up with. Another shot from behind, how- 

 ever, slackened her pace considerably, and enabled me 

 to pass her and give her a third shot in the shoulder. 

 This I at once saw was a mortal wound, for the 

 poor beast commenced to throw large quantities 

 of blood from her trunk ; after standing under a 

 tree for a short time, her limbs began to tremble, 

 then she made a few steps backwards, and sinking 

 on to her haunches, threw her trunk high in air, and 

 rolled over on her side stone dead. The calf, which 

 was quite large enough to pound one to a jelly, 

 and had teeth protruding six inches beyond the lip, 

 was now beside himself with rage, and with ears ex- 

 tended, and trumpeting loudly, charged viciously at 

 any one who approached within fifty yards of his dead 

 mother. Once I let him come on to close quarters, 



