Elephant Shooting. 93 



sturdy male bamboos, so much prized as shafts for hog- 

 hunting spears. Other bushes and creepers were also 

 plentifully sprinkled about, and I soon realised that if 

 I wanted to kill an elephant, my work was cut out for 

 me. Only the shikarie and a coolie with some food 

 were my companions. I had bought a two-grooved 

 No. 10 double rifle, two years before, from Colonel 

 Grant Allan, 1 and I was so pleased with it that I had 

 its counterpart made. Thus I had two as perfect 

 weapons for those days, as one could wish to be armed 

 with. A small cannon, single barrel, No. 4 gauge, 

 which I owned, I never had the pluck to fire, so after- 

 wards sold it to Lindsay, for many years in the 

 Mysore Commission. There is a legend of this 

 rifle, which I here give, without vouching for its 

 truth ; but it was told me by a man who would have 

 sooner died than tell a wilful untruth. He and 

 Lindsay came upon a herd of elephants I think in 

 the Bassein district. The elephants were alarmed, and 

 in their haste they rushed towards the sportsmen 

 instead of in the opposite direction ; a general 

 stampede took place, one or two distant shots were 

 made, when the shikarie who was carrying the small 

 cannon, finding three or four elephants overtaking 

 him, fired the weapon haphazard, was knocked 

 over by the recoil, got up, leaving the gun to its fate, 

 and ran for his life. Later on both sportsmen went 

 back to recover the weapon, found it, and two 

 elephants lying dead, which the man swore could 

 only have been killed by his solitary shot ! 



1 Made by the late Joseph Lang for Major Gill of Ellora 

 fame in 1839. I and others used it up to 1878 and it was then 

 as serviceable as a new weapon. 



