96 Incidents of Foreign Field Sport. 



it was getting too dark for accurate shooting, and the 

 brute tossed his head about in such a manner, 

 that to hit the brain, which is but small, was no 

 easy task. When all but night, we had to desist for 

 the time. Where the coolie had gone to in the 

 excitement of the combat we did not know, nor 

 could we find him. It was too late to go to 

 camp ; besides it would have entailed a long march 

 there, and a long trudge back next day, for I was 

 determined to have the tusker. We therefore 

 returned to the one I had killed. The Burman made 

 a meal off some portion of its trunk ; but I could not 

 stomach such food, so, after seeing that sufficient 

 brushwood had been collected to last through the 

 night, I lighted a couple of fires, used the foot of the 

 defunct animal as a pillow, and was soon fast asleep. 

 We took up the trail at daylight, but the stricken brute 

 had wandered off fully ten miles ; still we were not to 

 be denied. During our pursuit, I made a lucky shot 

 at a pea fowl, then "kabobed" its flesh over some 

 embers, and made a fair meal. We did not overtake 

 the veteran all that day, so slept out that night, and 

 on the following day resumed our pursuit. Where the 

 poor brute had lain down we came upon, and noted 

 how much shorter was its stride evidence of increas- 

 ing weakness so with renewed hope we pressed on. 

 The country was pretty open forest, with here and 

 there small patches of elephant grass. We had just 

 passed one of these, when there was a fiendish screech 

 and a bloody form was all but over us. I jumped 

 aside, and as the impetus carried our assailant forward, 

 I fired both barrels into his carcase, close to the 

 shoulder. This reduced him to a walk, and he went 



