INTELLIGENCE, POWER, 



"Shortly, they saw the barefoot tracker hurriedly re- 

 turning. Old Tembo was located. With rifles loaded and 

 safety catches off, the men tiptoed cautiously through the 

 head-high thick bush, Captain Hewlett constantly testing 

 the wind by dusting ashes from his little bag. Across a dry 

 river-bed, through heavy forest, over big logs, they made 

 their way until at last, standing at right angles to them, 

 his great gray head facing the stream, was Tembo. He had 

 just come down a precipitously steep dirt bank from the 

 Rift wall, breaking a tree as his foot slipped, and was on 

 his way to cross the dry river-bed not more than fifteen feet 

 beyond. When the Chief and Captain Hewlett first spied 

 him, it was like looking at the top of a black wall, as 

 neither the hind quarters nor the head of the elephant was 

 exposed. 



"On tiptoes they crept to within thirty yards of the big 

 pachyderm a long distance for a finishing shot, but the 

 elephant was in too thick cover to run the risk of losing 

 him. Even from this distance the entire elephant could 

 not be seen, so thick was the bush, but the top of the side 

 of the elephant and the top of the shoulder were clearly 

 exposed. 



" For days there has been discussion as to how to kill the 

 elephant. The two fatal shots of an elephant are the brain 

 shot and the heart shot, but as we are collecting the brain 

 and the heart it was necessary to find some other shot. As 

 the .465 and .470 guns have an impact of 5,000 pounds at 

 the muzzle, the Chief felt that four or five shots in quick 

 succession in the region of the big nerves in the shoulder 

 should kill by shock alone and they did. 



"From beginning to end, it lasted only a couple of 

 minutes and, from beginning to end, the elephant did not 

 move twice his own length. In majesty and dignity the 

 great beast made his exit. It was as if he had matched his 

 wits against those of Captain Hewlett and had accepted 

 with resignation his defeat." 



104 



