292 The Rifle and Hound in Ceylon. 



of high lemon grass. Here I got a shot at an elephant, 

 who separated from the main body, and I killed him. 



The pace was now so great that the herd fairly dis- 

 tanced us in the tangled lemon grass, which, though 

 play to them, was very fatiguing to us. 



Upon reaching the top of some rising ground, I no- 

 ticed several elephants, at about a quarter of a mile dis- 

 tant upon my left in high grass, while the remaining 

 portion of the herd (three elephants) were about two 

 hundred yards ahead, and were stepping out at full 

 speed straight before us. 



Wortley had now had plenty of practice, and shot his 

 elephants well. He and Palliser followed the three 

 elephants, while I parted company and ran toward the 

 other section of the herd, who were standing on some 

 rising ground, and were making a great roaring. 



On arriving within a hundred yards of them I found 

 I had caught a " Tartar." It is a very different thing, 

 creeping up to an unsuspecting herd and attacking them 

 by surprise, to marching up upon sheer open ground 

 to a hunted one with wounded elephants among them, 

 who have regularly stood at bay. This was now the 

 case ; the ground was perfectly open, and the lemon 

 grass was above my head : thus I could only see the 

 exact position of the elephants every now and then, by 

 standing upon the numerous little rocks that were scat- 

 tered here and there. The elephants were standing 

 upon some rising ground, from which they watched 

 every movement as I approached. They continued to 

 growl without a moment's intermission, being enraged 

 not only from the noise of the firing, but on account of 

 two calves which they had with them, and which I 

 could not see in the high grass. There was a gentle 



