HERDS OF ELEPHANTS. 267 



Presently, on reconnoitering the surrounding coun- 

 try, I discovered a second herd, consisting of five bull 

 elephants, which were quietly feeding about a mile to 

 the northward. The cows were feeding toward a 

 rocky ridge that stretched away from the base of the 

 hillock on which I stood. Burning with impatience to 

 commence the attack, I resolved to try the stalking sys- 

 tem with these, and to hunt the troop of bulls with 

 dogs and horses. Having thus decided, I directed the 

 guides to watch the elephants from the summit of the 

 hillock, and with a beating heart 1 approached them. 

 The ground and wind favoring me, I soon gained the 

 rocky ridge toward which they were feeding. They 

 were now within one hundred yards, and 1 resolved to 

 enjoy the pleasure of watching their movements for a 

 little before I fired. They continued to feed slowly 

 toward me, breaking the branches from the trees with 

 their trunks, and eating the leaves and tender shoots. 

 I soon selected the finest in the herd, and kept my eye 

 on her in particular. At length two of the troop had 

 walked slowly past at about sixty yards, and the one 

 which I had selected was feeding with two others, on 

 a thorny tree before me. 



My hand was now as steady as the rock on which it 

 rested ; so, taking a deliberate aim, I let fly at her head 

 a little behind the eye. She get it hard and sharp, just 

 where I aimed, but it did not seem to affect her much. 

 Uttering a loud cry, she wheeled about, when I gave 

 her the second ball close behind the shoulder. All 

 the elephants uttered a strange rumbling noise, and 

 made off in a line to the northward at a brisk am 

 biing pace, their huge, fan-like ears flapping in the 

 ratio of their speed. I did not wait to load, but ran 

 back to the hillock to obtain a view. On gaining its 



