Good Sport xvith Elephants. 219 



fatiguing ; still we dared not slacken the speed for an 

 instant lest the elephants should distance us. This was 

 the time for rifles to tell, although their weight (15 lbs.) 

 was rather trying in so long and fast a run. I was 

 within eighty paces of the herd, and I could not de- 

 crease the distance by a single yard. I halted and took 

 a shot at the ear of a large elephant in the middle of 

 the herd. The shot so stunned him that, instead of 

 going on straight, he kept turning round and round as 

 though running after his tail ; this threw the herd into 

 confusion, and some ran to the right and others to the 

 left, across some steep hollows. Running up to my 

 wounded elephant, I extinguished him with my re- 

 maining barrel ; and getting a spare rifle from Wallace, 

 who was the only gun-bearer who had kept up, I floored 

 another elephant, who was ascending the opposite side 

 of a hollow about forty yards off: this fellow took two 

 shots, and accordingly I was left unloaded. V. had 

 made good play with the rifles as the herd was crossing 

 the hollow, and he had killed three, making six bagged 

 in all. The remaining two elephants reached a thick 

 jungle and escaped. 



We returned to the tent, and after a bath we sat 

 down with a glorious appetite to breakfast, having 

 bagged six elephants before seven o'clock A. m. 



In the afternoon we went to the cave and sent out 

 trackers. We were very hard up for provisions in this 

 place : there were no deer in the neighborhood, and 

 we lived upon squirrels and parrots, both of which are 

 excellent eating, but not very substantial fare. 



The whole of this part of the country was one dark 

 mass of high lemon grass, which, not having been 

 burnt, was a tangled mixture of yellow stalks and sharp 



