A TWO MONTHS' LEAVE IN THE MALAY PENINSULA. 7 



ceived. I fortunately managed to reach it, and found the 

 elephants were quite close, the nearest not being more than ten 

 or fifteen yards off in the thick covert. Rounding a bush, I 

 found myself right among them ; but, though I could see two or 

 three, I could not get a front shot at any. There was now only 

 about a quarter of an hour of daylight left, so, fearing to lose 

 the chance altogether, I let fly behind the ear of the nearest 

 elephant, and in a slanting direction for his brain. (The brain, 

 it would seem, is the only really proper place to shoot for ; an 

 elephant seems not even to be inconvenienced by a shot in any 

 other part.) He was not more than fifteen yards from me, and 

 dropped to the shot. The left barrel of the rifle went off at the 

 same moment, either from the heavy charge of powder, or be- 

 cause I touched both triggers in the excitement of the moment. 

 Taking my other gun from the gunbearer, I ran towards the 

 elephant, which had fallen, and which lay right between me 

 and the others I wished to get at. I fired over him at two 

 others moving across. The first fellow took no notice of the shot, 

 but the second " got it hot " behind the ear, stopped, staggered, 

 but recovered himself and bundled off. 



The whole herd were now on foot, and all about me, no 

 doubt confused by the firing right among them, for they ran 

 about yelling and trumpeting, without either charging or flying. 

 I loaded my guns as quickly as I could behind a tree, when 

 I found the wounded elephant trying to recover his legs. 

 Thinking to give him a finisher, I fired both barrels of the rifle 

 into his head ; but this seemed merely to awake him, for he 

 regained his legs and was shuffling off, when I snatched the 

 smoothbore (8) from Houssan, ran round, and met him. I let 

 him come on till his trunk, which he was stretching out towards 

 me, nearly touched the muzzle of the gun, when I gave him a 

 shot just over the eye, and down he came with a crash on his 

 side like a dead horse. 



It was now very nearly dark, so I could not follow the 

 elephants, though, had another hour of daylight remained, I 

 have no doubt I could have bagged another or two, for they 



