208 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 



Upon scanning the surface of the grass, I distin- 

 guished the elephant immediately; he was standing 

 close to the edge of the jungle in the high grass, facing 

 us, at about a hundred and fifty yards distant. He was 

 a picture of intense excitement and attention, and was 

 evidently waiting for us. In the position that we now 

 occupied we unavoidably gave him the wind, and he 

 of course almost immediately discovered us. Giving 

 two or three shrill trumpets, lie paced quickly to and 

 fro before the jungle, as though he were guarding the 

 entrance. To enter the high grass to attack him would 

 have been folly, as he was fully prepared, and when 

 once in the tangled mass we could not have seen him 

 .until he was upon us ; we therefore amused ourselves 

 for about ten minutes by shooting at him. During this 

 time he continued pacing backward and forwai'd, 

 screaming almost without intermission ; and having 

 suddenly made up his mind to stand this bullying no 

 longer, he threw his trunk up hi the air and charged 

 straight at us. The dust flew like smoke from the dry 

 grass as he rushed through it ; but we were well pre- 

 pared to receive him. Not wishing him to come to 

 close quarters with my useless leg, I gave him a shot 

 with my two-ounce rifle, at about a hundred and twenty 

 paces. It did not even check him, but it had the effect 

 of making him lower his trunk, and he came on at un- 

 diminished speed. Taking the four-ounce rifle from 

 Wallace, I heard the crack of the ball as it entered his 

 head at about a hundred yards. He was down ! A gen- 

 eral shout of exclamation rose from Banda and all the 

 gun-bearers. I reloaded the four-ounce immediately, 

 and the ball was just rammed home when we heard the 

 supposed dead elephant roaring on the ground. In 



