chap. vi. DEATH OF A LARGE ROGUE. n? 



sank gently upon his knees, and never afterwards 

 moved a muscle ! His eyes were open, and so bright 

 that I pushed my finger in them to assure myself 

 that life was perfectly extinct. He was exactly thirty- 

 two paces from the rifle, and the ball had passed in at 

 one temple and out at the other. His height may be 

 imagined from this rough method of measuring. A 

 gun-bearer climbed upon his back as the elephant 

 lay upon all-fours, and holding a long stick across his 

 spine at right angles, I could just touch it with the 

 points of my fingers by reaching to my utmost height. 

 Thus, as he lay, his back was seven feet two inches, 

 perpendicular height, from the ground. This would 

 make his height when erect about twelve feet on the 

 spine — an enormous height for an elephant, as twelve 

 feet on the top of the back is about equal to eleven 

 feet six inches at the shoulder. If I had not fortu- 

 nately killed this elephant at the first shot, I should 

 have had enough to do to take care of myself, as he 

 was one of the most vicious-looking brutes that I ever 

 saw, and he was in the very act of charging when I 

 shot him. 



With these elephants the four-ounce rifle is an in- 

 valuable weapon ; even if the animal is not struck in 

 the mortal spot, the force of the blow upon the head is 

 so great that it will generally bring him upon his 

 knees, or at least stop him. It has failed once or 

 twice in this, but not often ; and upon those occasions 



