246 ELEPHANT SHOOTING 



having their breakfast not a quarter of a mile away. It 

 seems strange that so many people can see no animal, 

 however harmless, without wishing to kill it ; but 

 Colonel Gordon Cumming had travelled thousands of 

 miles for no other reason, and his heart beat high. He 

 quickly clambered down from his rock to warn his men 

 to keep quiet and out of sight, and sent back to the camp 

 for a fresh horse, his dogs, and his big rifle. Then he 

 returned to his watch-tower to make out the lie of the land. 



The first herd he knew, from the size of the beasts, to 

 be made up entirely of females, with some young ones 

 following closely at their heels ; but further away was 

 another troop, consisting of five males, also grazing 

 quietly. These he resolved to leave till the horses and 

 dogs came up, and to hunt the others on foot. 



Very cautiously he moved along the rocky ridge 

 where the females were fesling on the young branches 

 of the trees, till he got within a hundred yards of them. 

 As the wind was blowing straight at him the elephants 

 scented nothing, but continued to approach, munching as 

 they walked. The sportsman picked out the largest and 

 fired. The elephant uttered a cry of surprise more than 

 of pain, and turned sharp round, receiving as she did so 

 a second ball in the shoulder. Growling and muttering, 

 the whole herd set off at a sharp trot northward, flapping 

 their huge dangling ears as they went, the wounded 

 female bringing up the rear with a friend by its side. 

 When they reached a clump of trees they stopped, and 

 not having scented man they thought they were safe. 

 Meantime the horses and dogs had come up, and the 

 hunters rode slowly towards the grove. 



They had not gone far when the elephants caught 

 sight of them, and started off afresh. But the poor 

 wounded one could not keep up with the rest, and was 

 easily cut off. Gordon Cumming dismounted, and, 

 throwing his bridle over one arm, tried to aim steadily at 

 the elephant. He found this, however, almost impossible 



