BULLET AND SHOT 



on a cart, and we had plenty of soda-water with us. 

 Frequenting this, and the adjoining forest of Kar- 

 kenkotta which is bounded on the south by the 

 Cubbany river, was a large and dangerous rogue 

 elephant, a mucknah, who had killed several people, 

 and whom, in the interests of forestry, it was 

 advisable, if possible, to destroy. 



He was not then in the Metikuppa forest, as we 

 soon ascertained, so on the 27th January we moved 

 camp to Karkenkotta, marching through the jungle 

 in the hope of finding tracks of the rogue en route. 



In this we were successful, for we came upon the 

 fresh tracks of a large single elephant. H. and 

 I dismounted from our ponies, and sending the men 

 who were loaded with camp requirements on to 

 Karkenkotta, and accompanied by Kurrabas to track 

 and to carry our spare guns, ammunition, etc., we 

 set off to try to find the rogue. The forest consisted 

 of high timber, now bare and leafless, alternating 

 with bamboo of different ages, the youngest forming 

 dense thickets, and the mature an open jungle 

 of large clumps, with clear spaces between. So 

 hard and dry was the ground, that tracking was 

 very difficult, and after a good deal of very arduous 

 and hot work, we lost the tracks. The men were 

 quite at fault, but making a detour, they struck a 

 nullah, in the now almost dry bed of which a little 

 water still lingered in the deepest pools. Their 

 judgment proved correct, for here again we found 

 the tracks, and ere long we came upon hot dung, so 

 that we knew that the object of our pursuit was 

 now very near to us, and a little further on we 



230 



