THE ELEPHANT, THE GIANT OF THE FOREST 



scented us, for a fairly strong wind was blowing from the 

 herd in our faces. Neither could they at this time have 

 heard us, for, walking along in the wide elephant tracks, 

 we went too silently for them to have detected us, even 

 if at much closer quarters. 



These two bulls instantly gave the alarm, and the whole 

 herd began to move down in our direction. I succeeded 

 now in dropping one of the big tuskers, when, from the 

 report of the gun, the whole herd suddenly stampeded, 

 breaking down everything in front of them in their mad 

 attempt to avenge themselves on their two-legged enemies. 

 We could do absolutely nothing but remain where we stood, 

 the elephant grass being so high, and the bush so dense 

 that the big animals were now entirely hidden from view. 

 Hearing how the herd came nearer and nearer, angrily 

 trumpeting and making a terrific noise, as trees and bushes 

 were crushed before them, some of my men broke away 

 and ran. Suddenly a big elephant head shot out of the 

 high grass right in front of us, but in the next instant the 

 monster fell in a heap, with a bullet through its head 

 from the small 6.5 millimeter Mannlicher rifle. I had 

 exchanged the big .577 elephant gun for this excellent 

 little weapon, the Mannlicher, having six shots to the oth- 

 er's two, without reloading. Unfortunately this elephant 

 proved to be a female, and although the tusks were fairly 

 long, they were afterwards confiscated by the government, 

 as they did not together weigh sixty pounds. A few sec- 

 onds later I again had to shoot in self-defense. This time 

 it was a full-grown young bull with a pair of fine, although 

 small, tusks weighing only forty-eight pounds. He also 

 fell in his tracks, hit by two little Mannlicher bullets, only 



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