56 THROUGH GASA LAND. 



trunk and mouth ; evidence, I thought, that my 

 bullets were placed too far back, and had, in conse- 

 quence, perforated the lungs. To obviate a repeti- 

 tion of this mistake, I resolved to shoot further 

 forward. This I did, the result being that the poor 

 brute tried to charge the anthill, but could not ; then 

 commenced to stagger, and finally fell with a crash 

 that almost made the earth tremble. In the mean- 

 time I could hear a steady fire going on to the left, 

 so hastened of! in that direction. On my way Jim 

 seized my arm and told me to look out. It was well 

 he did so, for from the front was coming, straight in 

 our direction, a most excited and savage elephant, 

 judging from the manner in which he carried his 

 trunk and had his ears set. I stepped behind a tree ; 

 the beast's trunk was in a moment after up in the 

 air, the head was well raised and the mouth open. 

 Into it I fired my first barrel, with the hope that 

 the brain would be reached through the palate. For 

 a moment the shot seemed to daze the beast, then 

 on he came, screeching like a maniac. About five 

 yards off he passed the tree I was standing behind, 

 then clapping his eyes on the upturned root of 

 a windfall, charged it full tilt, after which mad 

 action, he stood still, as if satisfied with the revenge 

 he had taken. Two more shots I gave the enraged 

 beast. Afterwards he seemed more amenable to 

 reason, but it was not till I had fired three more 

 shots that the unfortunate yielded up his life. This 



