72 AFRICAN ADVENTURE STORIES 



severe fright. In fact, when an elephant charges 

 one can never tell what will happen until it is all 

 over. 



At Nairobi we were introduced to a Russian 

 doctor who went over into the Congo a few weeks 

 in advance of our party. At Gondokoro we 

 again met him and he exhibited a shirt in which 

 was a long rent made by the tusks of an elephant. 

 The animal charged, he jumped aside, and the 

 tusks ripped the hole in his shirt. Continuing 

 its course, it overtook the gun bearer, knocked 

 him down, stepped on his head, and rushed on. 



Unlike a lion, an elephant will usually bolt 

 when severely wounded. There are very few in- 

 stances where a lion, after once charging, has 

 been known to stop or turn aside unless it was 

 disabled. It continues so long as it can keep 

 on its feet and will sometimes kill a man while 

 gasping its last breath. But an elephant, when 

 mortally wounded, will often turn, and even 

 should it continue its charge and pass so close 

 that it could easily pick up its victim it fre- 

 quently rushes past without noticing him. 



Very little is known of the breeding habits of 

 elephants or their manner of caring for their 

 young. A gentleman with whom we became 



