chap. xii. A JUNGLE TRIP. 323 



After a long search we found them lying in the high 

 bushes. 



We now returned along the line of hunt to cut off 

 the elephants' tails. I had fired at six, all of which 

 were bagged ; these we accordingly found in their va- 

 rious positions. One of them was a very large female, 

 with her udder full of milk. Being very thirsty, both 

 Wortley and I took a long pull at this, to the evident 

 disgust of the natives. It was very good, being exactly 

 like cow's milk. This was the elephant that I had 

 killed doubly by the left-hand barrel exploding by 

 accident, and the two balls were only a few inches 

 apart in the forehead. 



There had been very bad luck with this herd ; the 

 only dead elephant, in addition to these six, was that 

 which Wortley and Palliser had both fired at in the 

 river, and another which Palliser had knocked down 

 in the high grass when we had just commenced the 

 attack — at which time he had separated from us to cut 

 off the three elephants that we had just seen among 

 the rocks. 



On arrival at the spot where the elephants had first 

 burst from the jungle, a heavy shower came down, and 

 the locks of the guns were immediately covered each 

 with a large leaf, and then tied up securely with a 

 handkerchief. A large banian tree afforded us an 

 imaginary shelter, but we were drenched to the skin 

 in a few seconds. In the meantime, Palliser walked 



z 2 



