Fifty-pound Tusks 



one side and loosed off both barrels into his broad- 

 side. What joy! I had penetrated the heart. 

 Down he sank like a ship in distress. My rifle was 

 very difficult to reload, requiring both hands and 

 one foot and at least half a minute. By the time 

 the operation was finished, the elephant had risen 

 for a final rush, but I managed to shoot him in the 

 head, and, like the gentleman he was, he lay 

 down and kindly gave up living. I went back to 

 camp in quite a different mood to that which I 

 had left it, and received congratulations from all 

 my party. 



Next day was Sunday, and I was glad to be 

 able to rest, as I am a thorough believer in and 

 upholder of this ancient custom. I moved my tent 

 over to where the elephant lay, and while I was 

 writing letters I told the porters to chop it up. 

 Great excitement prevailed when the first tusk was 

 brought in, and amidst a circle of enquiring faces 

 I weighed it. About fifty pounds; not so bad 

 for these parts, where they have the reputation 

 of running small. Imagine my surprise when the 

 second tusk was brought in and laid alongside the 

 other, to see that it was quite six inches smaller in 

 length. I was finding great fault, when my orderly 

 assured me that it was the right tusk, which is 

 invariably heavier than the left. True enough, 

 when I came to weigh it, I found it half-a-pound 

 more. They cut out the animal's teeth and lopped 

 off his tail, to say nothing of his two front feet and 

 half-a-dozen of the toes of the hind feet. A photo- 



153 



