ELEPHANT 203 
to do it, nothing could prevent them. No tree, no shelter, 
no hiding place of any sort. As the black bulk of the herd 
rose above me, I felt as a man might feel who proposed to 
himself to shoot into one of our high New York Central 
locomotives, with about as much chance of knocking 
it off the line, as he had of bringing down this mountain 
of black life. 
When we had crawled within about fifty yards, there 
was, for some cause or other, a movement in the long black 
line. It grew longer, stretched out, and for a moment or 
two threatened to bend inwards toward us at each end. 
The elephants seemed to suspect something, and the cury- 
ing trunks were held high in air, and the great black ears 
rose upright at right angles to the heads, standing out on 
either side like sails of a boat running dead before the wind, 
and going “‘wing and wing.” 
We had, naturally, an anxious time of it for those few 
moments as we crouched watchfully in the grass. Any 
flank movement of the herd would give it our wind, and 
they then would come down on us, or rush away. ‘Their 
suspicions died down, and they again stood still. 
Now was our time. Perhaps fifteen yards nearer we 
pressed. I was, of course, to do the shooting, H. to fire 
after me. My bull kept moving his head up and down, so 
I determined, rather than risk the head shot, to take him in 
the shoulder and well forward. I picked my spot and fired, 
H. firing immediately afterward. 
Then arose pandemonium! First they all seemed to 
rush together, then wheel outward, facing in all directions. 
Then such trumpeting and noise of mingled cries! My 
bull stood for a moment, and as he wheeled I shot him 
again, when, to my surprise, I admit, he crashed to earth 
with a rumbling noise, and never seemed to stir again. 
Now the herd swayed and rocked, all huddled together. 
At one moment it looked as if they would sweep forward, 
