338 HUNTING ADVENTURES. 



and shrill that the earth seemed to vibrate beneath ciy fee-t, he 

 charged furiously after me for several hundred yards in a direct 

 line, not altering his course in the slightest degree for the trees of 

 the forest, which he snapped and overthrew like reeds in his 

 headlong career. 



When he pulled up in his charge, I likewise halted ; and as he 

 slowly turned to retreat, I let fly at his shoulder, " Sunday" caper- 

 ing and prancing, and giving me much trouble. On receiving the 

 ball the elephant shrugged his shoulder, and made off at a free 

 majestic walk. This shot brought several of the dogs to my assist- 

 ance which had been following the other elephants, and on their 

 coming up and barking another headlong charge was the result, 

 accompanied by the never-failing trumpet as before. In his 

 charge he passed close to me, when I saluted him with a second 

 bullet in the shoulder, of which he did not take the slightest 

 notice. I now determined not to fire again until I could make a 

 steady shot ; but, although the elephant turned repeatedly, (e Sun- 

 day" invariably disappointed me, capering so that it was impos- 

 sible to fire. At length, exasperated, I became reckless of the 

 danger,, and, springing from the saddle, approached the elephant 

 under cover of a tree, ana gave him a bullet in the side of the 

 head, when, trumpeting so shrilly that the forest trembled, he 

 charged among the dogs, from whom he seemed to fancy that the 

 blow had come ; after which he took up a position in a grove of 

 thorns, with his head toward me. I walked up very near, and, 

 as he was in the act of charging (being in those days under wrong 

 impressions as to the impracticability of bringing down an elephant 

 with a shot in the forehead), stood coolly m his path until he was 

 within fifteen paces of me, and let drive at the hollow of his fore- 

 head, in the vain expectation that by so doing I should end his 

 career. The shot only served to increase his fury an effect 

 which, I had remarked, shots in the head invariably produced ; 

 tmd, continuing his charge with incredible quickness and impetu- 

 osity, he all but terminated my elephant-hunting forever. A large 

 party of the Bechuanas who had. come up yelled out simultane- 

 ously, imagining I was killed, for the elephant was at one moment 



