170 ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER CH. 



revealed that all my organs were sound and 

 healthy. 



A considerable supply of clothes, such as khaki 

 shirts and trousers, and of light shoes for 

 running in, is a necessity, and I find that very thin 

 cotton vests, which I immediately change when 

 soaked with perspiration, are the best. My boy 

 carries two or three changes of these vests in a 

 small waterproof wallet over his shoulder. 



Perhaps, when discussing big game and big game 

 hunting, a few remarks on rifles will not be out of 

 place, but as the subject is naturally one open to 

 endless discussion, I shall express a personal 

 opinion rather than dogmatize. During my hunt- 

 ing career, I have used all kinds of rifles from the 4 

 bore, black powder, elephant rifle downwards, but as 

 the black powder rifle is a thing of the past, I shall 

 confine my attention to modern high-velocity, smoke- 

 less powder rifles, which are infinitely superior to 

 their predecessors on account of their greater range, 

 velocity, power and lightness. 



In the first place, the man behind the rifle is so 

 obviously of primary importance that the fact may 

 be dismissed without further comment, while the 

 great consideration in all hunting is to kill and not 

 merely to wound the game fired at. With regard 

 to the weapon, practically any modern rifle will kill 

 game if the bullet penetrates a vital part such as the 



