GLORIOUS NIGHT SHOOTING. 195 



"We have him.'' I had hardly uttered the words when 

 ho fell over on his side ; he rose, however, again to his 

 feet. At this moment the same presuming borele who 

 had troubled us in the early part of the night came up' 

 to us again, and, declining as before to depart by gentle 

 hints, I thought it a fitting moment to put an end to 

 his intrusion, and accordingly gave him a ball behind 

 the shoulder. On receiving it, he galloped off in tre- 

 mendous consternation, and passed close under the dy- 

 ing elephant, who at the moment fell dead with a heavy 

 crash, and broke one of his hind legs under him in the 

 fall. 



About an hour after two more elephants came tower- 

 ing on from the east. When they came up they stood 

 for a long time motionless within forty yards of the 

 water ; and at length the finer of the two, which was 

 a very first-rate old bull, and carrying immense tusks, 

 walked boldly forward, and, passing round the north 

 side of the fountain, commenced drinking on the rock 

 just as the crippled bull had done. We both fired to- 

 gether, holding for his heart ; the bullets must have 

 gone nearly through him, for we had double charges 

 of powder in our weapons. On receiving the shots he 

 dropped a volume of water from his trunk, and, tossing 

 it aloft, uttered a loud cry and made off, steering north ; 

 but before he was out of our sight he reduced his pace 

 to a slow walk, and I could quite plainly hear, by the 

 loud, painful breathing through his trunk, that he was 

 mortally wounded ; but whether the natives were too 

 lazy to seek him, or having found him would not tell 

 me, I know not, but I never got him. We shot another 

 bull elephant shortly after this; he too uttered a shrill 

 cry, and went off holding the same course the last one 

 did; that was, however, all that I ever sav of him. 



