en a)', vii. SHOOTING BY MOONLIGHT. i6i 



was, therefore, obliged to wait till she was within four 

 or five paces before I fired. She gave me a good shot, 

 and dropped dead. The young one was rushing about 

 and roaring in a tremendous manner, having again 

 been fired at and wounded by B. and W. By this 

 time I had got a spare gun, and, wading into the tank, 

 I soon came to such close quarters that I could not 

 miss, and one shot killed him. The other small 

 elephant escaped unseen in the confusion caused by 

 the firing. 



The following evening we again watched the pool, 

 and once more a mother and her young one came to 

 drink. W. and B. extinguished the young one while 

 I killed the mother. 



This watching by moonlight is a kind of sport that 

 I do not admire ; it is a sort of midnight murder, and 

 many a poor brute who comes to the silent pool to 

 cool his parched tongue, finds only a cup of bitterness, 

 and retires again to his jungle haunts to die a lingering 

 death from some unskilful wound. The best shot 

 must frequently miss by moonlight ; there is a silvery 

 glare which renders all objects indistinct, and the shot 

 very doubtful ; thus two animals out of three fired at 

 will generally escape wounded. 



I was tired of watching by night, and I again re- 

 turned to the neighbourhood of Yalle. After a long 

 ride through a burning sun, I went down to the river 

 to bathe. The water was not more than three feet 



