3 o6 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



The rain all this time had simply been coming down in 

 torrents. After shouting myself hoarse for the two trackers, who 

 looked very sheepish when I began to chaff them for making 

 themselves scarce, we took on the tracks of the elephant, whose 

 route was now plainly indicated, not only by its tracks, but 

 by splashes of blood on the ground and surrounding bushes. 

 We had not gone half-a-mile before I caught sight of the 

 elephant standing in some open " indaing," bastard teak forest, 

 with its trunk up in the air, through which at intervals blood 

 appeared to be issuing ; this was a sure indication that he had 

 been shot through the lungs and was practically disabled. 

 On seeing me approach he made feints of charging, but I 

 could see from the bubbles and bloody froth which dropped 

 from his trunk that he was helpless and that the end was 

 near. I then walked up to him accompanied by a Burman 

 with a spare gun, and at the distance of about ten paces 

 administered a coup de grace by planting a bullet in the 

 centre of the bump with my Lang smooth-bore. The elephant 

 on receiving the shot toppled over on one side with a dull 

 thud, falling on its right side, the heavier tusk being the right 

 one. I have noticed that tuskers, when shot through the 

 brain, invariably, when they fall on their sides, collapse on 

 the side which has the heavier tusk. Elephants very often, 

 on the other hand, when killed by body shots, succumb in a 

 natural life-like kneeling posture. His measurements, taken 

 as he lay, were as follows : 



Vertical height at shoulder, 9 feet 4 inches. 



Length from tip of trunk to tip of tail, 26 feet. 



Right tusk, length 4 feet 9 inches. 



Right tusk, weight 38^ Ibs. 



Left tusk, length 3 feet 9 inches. 



Left tusk, weight 28 Ibs. 



A piece of the right tusk had, at some time of the animal's 

 life when he belonged to a herd, been broken off in an en- 

 counter, or perhaps through an accident. The pulp cavity in 

 both tusks had decreased considerably, showing that the 

 elephant was an old one. It will be noticed that the hollow 

 or pulp cavities of large massive tusks are as a rule very small. 



