A PERILOUS ENCOUNTER. 269 



not to relinquish my steed, but to hold on by the bri- 

 dle. My men, who of course kept at a safe distance, 

 stood aghast with their mouths open, and for a few sec- 

 onds my position was certainly not an enviable one. 

 Fortunately, however, the dogs took off the attention 

 of the elephants ; and just as they were upon me, I 

 managed to spring into the saddle, where I was safe. 

 As I turned my back to mount, the elephants were so 

 very near that I really expected to feel one of their 

 trunks lay hold of me. I rode up to Kleinboy for my 

 double-barreled two-grooved rifle : he and Isaac were 

 pale and almost speechless with fright. Returning to 

 the charge, I was soon once more alongside, and, firing 

 from the saddle, I sent another brace of bullets into the 

 wounded elephant. Colesberg was extremely unsteady, 

 and destroyed the correctness of my aim. 



The friend now seemed resolved to do some mischief, 

 and charged me furiously, pursuing me to a distance 

 of several hundred yards. I therefore deemed it proper 

 to give her a gentle hint to act less officiously, and, ac- 

 cordingly, having loaded, I approached within thirty 

 yards, and gave it her sharp, right and left, behind the 

 shoulder, upon which she at once made off with droop- 

 ing trunk, evidently with a mortal wound. I never re- 

 cur to this my first day's elephant shooting without re- 

 gretting my folly in contenting myself with securing 

 only one elephant. The first was now dying, and could 

 not leave the ground, and the second was also mortal- 

 ly wounded, and I had only to follow and finish her; 

 but I foolishly allowed her to escape, while I amused 

 myself with the first, which kept walking backward, 

 and standing by every tree she passed. Two more 

 shots finished her : on receiving them, she tossed her 

 trunk up and down two or three times, and, falling on 



