Elephant Shooting. 95 



up and in a moment was all but on me. I seized 

 the spare rifle and fired both barrels, then threw 

 myself under the lee of a buttress tree, and the 

 monster in his headlong charge all but stepped upon 

 me. He ran only a few yards, then right-about 

 faced, and made for me again. I was powerless, 

 but had fortunately crawled from the buttress under 

 which I had taken refuge, to one on the other side of 

 the tree, for the brute was hunting for me by scent ! 

 Hurriedly I poured the powder down my barrels ; the 

 bullets fitted easily, but being sewn up in thin cloth, 

 clung slightly, thus delaying me in getting 

 them home. The beast was too close by half, and 

 the least noise would bring him on me. In peering 

 round I saw that of my last two shots, one had knocked 

 out an eye and the other had paralysed to a certain 

 extent the trunk, and that the blood was pouring 

 from the wound into the sound optic. So I got up 

 noiselessly, and retreated behind another tree some 

 twenty yards off, where the Burmaii joined me. 

 Having loaded both rifles, whilst the old fellow was 

 feeling about for me, I went forward and gave him a 

 right and left again in the temple, but as I fired, the 

 beast threw up his head, and I missed the vital 

 place. This salute caused him to rush towards us, 

 a huge buttress tree caught his fore feet, and down he 

 went a fearful cropper ! I seized my other rifle and 

 gave him the two barrels as he was attempting to 

 rise, but he bore a charmed life. I again retreated, 

 but as soon as I had loaded, I followed him up. Badly 

 wounded as he was, he kept us at a trot, and when 

 we got closer than he liked, he spun round and came 

 for us. I fired eleven more shots, but it was useless ; 



