SHOOTING UNDER DIFFICULTIES 327 



fired. The effect was instantaneous ; the elephant on receiving 

 the shot rolled right over and turned a complete somersault, 

 like a rabbit hit in the head, rolling right over on to its back 

 and then on to its side, stone dead, the blood spouting out 

 of a bullet-hole in the centre of the bump or forehead. The 

 other three animals changed the direction of their charge, and 

 swerved slightly to one side, being met by a hurried right and 

 left from Moung Yauk, who nearly burst the drum of my 

 right ear by firing within a few inches of my head, the bullets 

 taking effect amongst the upper branches of a tree some 20 

 or 30 feet from the ground. 



As I was suffering at the time from a rather severe attack 

 of low malarial fever, my temperature being about 103, I did 

 not feel by any means keen on following the animal I had 

 first fired at, as I was sure it would go clean away and cover 

 some fifteen or twenty miles of country before we should see 

 it again, having only received one shot, and that perhaps not 

 in a vital spot. Judge my surprise when, on entering the 

 cane-brake already referred to, and into which the elephant 

 had gone, we heard the well-known flapping sounds of an 

 elephant's leathery ears. The jungle here was very dense > 

 and our position was now extremely ticklish should a charge 

 be made, unless I could stop it with my heavy rifle. 



There were only passages here and there, originally made 

 by elephants, through which we could follow in single file. 

 There was no escape right or left, should the animal come 

 down on us ; the only means of exit was by running back 

 along these narrow passages, which were often not by any 

 means clear of overhanging creepers, branches, stumps, and 

 very strong hooked cane thorns. There were, besides, no 

 bamboo clumps or trees of sufficient girth and stability 

 behind which to take refuge. The flapping sounds seemed 

 to come from a dense patch of jungle some 25 yards off, 

 but do what we would, not a single portion of the animal 

 was visible, although I reconnoitred his position from every 

 available point. At last in desperation I collected a few 

 stones and threw them one after another into the patch as 

 quickly as possible. The result was electrifying, for with a 

 smothered shriek the elephant charged through the thick 



