230 



AN EXTRAORDINARY OCCURRENCE. 



Present to nine Kurrabas, . 

 Cumbleya (blankets) to do., 

 Present to my gun-bearers, 

 Holoyas for cleaning the skull, 

 Warm clothes for servants, 

 Two carts to Kakankote, 

 Tobacco, arrack, and rice, . 

 Sundries, say 



Total, 



150 (£15) 



One remarkable incident that happened to me in the Kakankote" jungles 

 on another occasion was the accidental shooting of an elephant in a pit. I 

 was following a herd at the time, and had sent two Kurrabas ahead on the 

 trail, when one of them came running back, gesticulating frantically, and 

 said an elephant had fallen into a pit, and was just getting out. Away he 

 went again, I trying in vain to understand from him what had occurred, 

 until he pointed ahead into the long grass and said, " There, there ! shoot 

 him, shoot him ! " Not knowing what to make of this, except that there was 

 an elephant somewhere in the grass, I ran on, and almost fell into an old 

 disused pitfall, which now contained an elephant. His head was a little 

 above the level of the ground. As I stepped quickly back he threw his 

 fore-feet on to the bank, and tried to reach me with his tusks. The whole 

 occurrence was so sudden and unexpected, and his rush so startling, that I 

 instinctively pulled the trigger of my 4-bore rifle from my hip as I stepped 

 back ; there was no time to bring it to my shoulder. The shot went through 

 the base of his right tusk and buried itself deeply in his neck. He fell 

 backwards, but recovering himself, he commenced dashing his head with 

 great violence against the sides of the pit in his stupefaction. I therefore 

 took a light gun from Jaffer and killed him. The shot from the 4-bore was 

 a mortal one, and sparing him was merely prolonging his agony. 



The elephant's getting into the pit had apparently occurred as follows : 

 The herd had passed about two hours before. The pit was one of a number 

 of old disused ones, scattered throughout the jungles, and was not now even 

 covered in for elephant-catching. It had not been used for many years, 

 and the overhanging lemon-grass half hid it from view. The tusker, not 

 perceiving it, perhaps when gambolling with his companions, had fallen in. 

 The herd had immediately fled in alarm, as elephants always do ; and when 

 the Kurrabas came upon the elephant trying to clamber out they thought 

 lie was on the point of succeeding, and by their excitement led me to the 

 hasty action which resulted in his death. He would have worked down 



