in THE ELEPHANT 65 



The river ran through cliffs of rose-coloured limestone ; this 

 soon changed to white ; and we proceeded down stream examining 

 the sandy portions of the bed for tracks of game that might have 

 passed during the preceding night. After about a mile we came 

 upon tracks of elephants, which had apparently come down to drink 

 at our side of the river, and had then returned, I felt sure, to the 

 thorny asylum named Tuleet. 



There was no other course to pursue but to follow on the 

 tracks ; this we did until we arrived at the formidable covert to 

 which I have alluded. It was impossible to enter this except at 

 certain places where wild animals had formed a narrow lane, and 

 in one of these by-ways we presently ftmnd ourselves, sometimes 

 creeping, sometimes walking, but generally adhering firmly every 

 minute to some irrepressible branch of hooked thorns, which gave 

 us a pressing invitation to " wait a bit." In a short time we found 

 evident signs that the elephants were near at hand. The natives 

 thrust their naked feet into the fresh dung to see if it was still 

 warm. This was at length the case, and we advanced with extra 

 care. The jungle became so thick that it was almost impossible 

 to proceed. I wore a thick flaxen shirt which would not tear. 

 This had short sleeves, as I was accustomed to bare arms from a 

 few inches above the elbow. Not only my shirt, but the tough 

 skin of my arms was every now and then hooked up fast by these 

 dreadful thorns, and at last it appeared impossible to proceed. 

 Just at that moment there was a sudden rush, a shrill trumpet, 

 and the jungle crashed around us in magnificent style to those who 

 enjoy such excitement, and a herd of elephants dashed through the 

 dense thicket and consolidated themselves into a mighty block as 

 they endeavoured to force down the tough thorny mass ahead of 

 them. This was a grand opportunity to run in, but a phalanx of 

 opposing rumps like the sterns of Dutch vessels in a crowd rendered 

 it impossible to shoot, or to pass ahead of the perplexed animals. 

 A female elephant suddenly wheeled round, and charged straight 

 into us ; fortunately I killed her with a forehead shot exactly below 

 the boss or projection above the trunk. I now took a spare rifle, 

 the half-pounder, and fired into the flank of the largest elephant 

 in the herd, just behind the last rib, the shot striking obliquely, 

 thus aimed to reach the lungs, as I could not see any of the fore 

 portion of the body. 



The dense compressed thorny mass of jungle offered such resist- 

 ance that it was some time before it gave way before the united 

 pressure of these immense animals. At length it yielded as the 

 herd crashed through, but it then closed again upon us and made 



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