ELEPHANT SHOOTING 



up my rifle, and the muzzle was barely 18 inches off 

 his head when I gave him the left barrel as near as I 

 could see into his ear-hole. Down he went on his 

 knees and I turned for my spare rifle, but the man had 

 disappeared ; but just at that moment my brother ran 

 up and gave the elephant two shots as he was trying to 

 struggle up. This only seemed to revive him, and he 

 got up and lumbered ofF at a great pace, and, though we 

 followed some way, we never saw him again. 



My last shot, which must have passed close to his 

 brain, took all the fight out of him. It was a narrow 

 escape, and lucky for me that the trees were close by. 

 Had the man with the second rifle been by me I might 

 have added his tail to my collection. We were a long 

 way from camp, and did not get back till 2 P.M. I talked 

 to the gentleman who had my spare rifle ! ! ! I was 

 thoroughly disgusted about the tusker. I had only seen 

 one small one previously, in many years' shooting, and, 

 though I have done a great deal since, have never seen 

 another. 



THE DEATH OF THE RUGAM ROGUE 



BY H. R. SPENCE, Assistant Conservator of Forests 



For some years this elephant had been a terror to the 

 people near Rugam Tank and to the u tappal " runners from 

 Badulla to Batticaloa, and was credited with the death of 

 eleven persons. It was his habit to wait just inside the 

 forest, near the roadside, and rush out on passers-by. He 

 used also occasionally to overturn loaded carts, and smash 

 them up. In December 1890 news was brought in that he 

 had killed another " tappal " runner, whose body was found 

 pounded to a jelly, and the mail bags were also much 



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