74 WILD 1IEASTS AND THEIR WAYS CHAP. 



upon the loose sand, that the active hunters were completely dis- 

 tanced, although they exerted themselves to the utmost in their 

 attempts to overtake him. 



The wound through the shoulder was fatal, and the elephant 

 fell dead in thick thorny jungle, to which it had hurried as a 

 secure retreat. This was a very large animal, but as I did not 

 actually measure it, any guess at the real height would be mis- 

 leading. As Iwfore noted, the measurement of the African elephant 

 Jumbo, when sold by the Zoological Society of London, was 11 

 feet in height of shoulder, and G tons 10 cwts. nett when weighed 

 before shipment at the docks. That animal might be accepted as 

 a fair specimen, although it would bo by no means unusual to see 

 wild elephants which greatly exceed this size. 



The j>eculiar shape of head renders a front shot almost impossible, 

 and the danger of hunting the African elephant is greatly enhanced 

 by this formation of the skull, which protects the brain and offers 

 no defined jwint for aim. 



I have never succeeded in killing a male African elephant by 

 the forehead shot, although it is certainly fatal to the Asiatic 

 variety if placed rather low, in the exact centre of the boss or pro- 

 jection above the trunk. Should an African elephant charge, there 

 is no hope of killing the animal by a direct shot, and the only 

 chance of safety for the hunter is the po.ssession of good nerves and 

 a powerful double-barrelled rifle, No. 8 or No. 4, with 14 drams 

 of powder and a well-hardened bullet. The right-hand barrel will 

 generally stop a charging elephant if the bullet is well placed very 

 low, almost in the base of the trunk. Should this shot succeed in 

 turning the animal, the left-hand barrel would be ready for a shot 

 in the exact centre of the shoulder ; after which, time must be 

 allowed for the elephant to fall from internal haemorrhage. 



There is no more fatal policy in hunting dangerous game than a 

 contempt of the animal, exhibited by a selection of weapons of inferior 

 calibre. Gunmakers in London of no practical experience, but who 

 can only trust to the descriptions of those who have travelled in 

 wild countries, cannot possibly le trusted as advisers. Common 

 sense should be the guide, and surely it requires no extraordinary 

 intelligence to understand that a big animal requires a big bullet, 

 and that a big bullet requires a corresponding charge of powder, 

 which necessitates a heavy rifle. If the hunter is not a Hercules, 

 he cannot wield his club; but do not .permit him to imagine that 

 he can deliver the same knock-down blow with a lighter weapon, 

 simply Ix-raiise he cannot use the heavier. 



We lost only last year one of the most daring and excellent men, 



