ELEPHANT HUNTING. 555 



approaching from the south by the same path which all the 

 others had held. This elephant must have been very thirsty, 

 for he came boldly on without any hesitation, and, keeping 

 to windward, walked past within about eight yards of us. 

 We fired at the same moment ; the elephant wheeled about, 

 and, after running a hundred yards, reduced his pace to a 

 slow walk. I clapped Carey on the shoulder, and said, " "\Ye 

 have him." I had hardly uttered the words when he fell 

 over on his side; he rose, however, again to his feet. At 

 this moment the same presuming borele* who had troubled us 

 in the early part of the night came up to us again, and, 

 declining as before to depart by gentle hints, I thought it a 

 fitting moment to put an end to his intrusion, and accord- 

 ingly gave him a ball behind the shoulder. On receiving it, 

 he galloped off in tremendous consternation, and passed close 

 under the dying elephant, who at the moment fell dead with 

 a heavy crash, and broke one of his hind legs under him in 

 the fall. 



About an hour after two more elephants came towering on 

 from the east. "When they came up they stood for a long 

 time motionless within forty yards of the water ; and at 

 length the finer of the two, which was a very first-rate old 

 bull, and carrying immense tusks, walked boldly forward, 

 and, passing round the north side of the fountain, commenced 

 drinking on the rock, just as the crippled bull had done, We 

 both fired together, holding for his heart; the bullets must 

 have gone nearly through him, for we had double charges of 

 powder in our weapons. On receiving the shots he dropped 

 a volume of water from his trunk, and, tossing it aloft, uttered 

 a loud cry and made off, steering north ; but before he was 

 out of our sight he reduced his pace to a slow walk, and I 

 could quite plainly hear, by the loud, painful breathing 

 through his trunk, that he was mortally wounded ; but 

 whether the natives were too lazy to seek him, or having 

 found him would not tell me, I know not, but I never got 



