ELEPHANT SHOOTING 



I had just time to fire and throw myself down when he 

 came right over the top of me through the smoke, luckily 

 only brushing me with his feet. I thought it was all up 

 with me, and felt as if a bucket of water had been poured 

 down my back. My old tracker, who was close to me, was 

 knocked over, but also unhurt. 



My shot was a very hurried one, as the elephant was 

 towering right over me, but it must have stupefied him, as 

 he went straight on. 



Going back on our tracks I saw two figures rapidly 

 coming down trees outside the thorny scrub. These were 

 the men with my spare rifles, who had funked coming into 

 the lantana, and had laid these up against trees outside. 



They had been seen by the elephant and chased by him, 

 and now expecting to be chased by me they made a clean 

 bolt, and I never saw them again, as they never stayed in 

 their village when they heard I was in the neighbourhood. 

 The elephant had recrossed the river, and, as I had to get 

 back to the estate, we had to give it up for the present. 



A little later I went down again with a friend who had 

 never shot an elephant, and after a couple of days came 

 upon the elephant who was " must" and was with a big 

 female out of a neighbouring herd. 



Trying to get up to them they winded us, and without 

 a moment's hesitation came right on. 



I gave T. the shot, but it was too much for his nerves 

 these two brutes coming on close together, and he not only 

 failed to stop them, but in some unaccountable way clean 

 missed them both. Luckily the 4-bore was handy, and 

 I dropped the bull almost at our feet, the cow wheeling 

 off at the first shot. I found my old bullet-mark, which 

 was nearly healed, had been about a couple of inches too 

 high. 



137 



