212 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



received a 4-bore bullet behind the shoulder, but a trifle too high. 

 The dense cloud of smoke hanging in the damp heavy 

 atmosphere prevented me from getting a shot at the other one 

 before he disappeared in the bush. On going up to where the 

 one I shot at had stood there was no difficulty in finding blood, 

 and on following up his spoor we came across him in about 200 

 yards, standing in dense bush, evidently very sick and unable 

 to move, and another couple of shots killed him. He was a 

 splendid beast, the finest I have ever killed, but as I only had 

 a small steel yard measure with me I was unable to measure 

 him properly. His tusks were 7 ft. and 6 ft. 9 in. long 

 respectively, and weighed about 60 Ibs. apiece ; his forefeet 

 measured 54 in. in circumference, and the length of his ear 

 was 5 ft. 4 in. 



Although the hunting of elephants is as a rule very hard and 

 trying work, there is always the possibility of getting them with- 

 out much trouble, as happened to myself one day in Turkwel, a 

 district in the Suk country east of Mount Elgon. While the camp 

 was being pitched a porter came up to say that when collect- 

 ing firewood in the bush he had seen elephants close by, and 

 had left them quietly feeding and standing about. Though 

 it seemed very improbable that I should find them after all the 

 noise that had been and still was going on amongst the men, 

 I went out and found a herd of some twenty-five elephants, 

 standing within 600 yards of camp. The country was undulat- 

 ing and very open, and as the grass had lately been burnt 

 there was no covert excepting table-topped mimosa trees, while 

 to make matters worse the elephants were much scattered and 

 standing on the other side of a swampy hollow, with the excep- 

 tion of one bull, which was standing in it. With great difficulty 

 I managed to crawl up to a fallen tree on the edge of the swamp, 

 and within about 80 yards of where the bull was standing. 

 Resting trie 4-bore on the fallen tree. I took a steady shot at him 

 as he was in the act of drinking, and gave him another bullet 

 from the 8-bore far back in the ribs, which, as he turned, raked 

 forward into his vitals. Running forward into the swamp, I gave 



