Appendix 



295 



hangs to the ground, you can kill it by firing at the last 

 fold of the trunk, right between the eyes, sometimes a little 

 above. The bullet will then reach the brain, provided, of 

 course, you have a powerful weapon. 



But if it charges or looks at you, that is, if its head 

 is raised and the frontal bone is oblique, it is useless 

 to fire : you waste your time and risk your life. When 

 an elephant has its head raised and its trunk is rolled up 

 as though to charge, the hunter, by stooping clown, can 

 mortally wound it 

 on the neck by 

 aiming exactly on 

 a level with the 

 lower jaw at the 

 hollow of the 

 breast -bone. But 

 one must only 

 run these risks 

 when quite sure of 

 oneself, and when 

 the nature of the 

 ground does not 

 prevent instant flight. The accompanying drawing shows 

 exactly the place on an elephant's skull to be hit, and 

 on its shoulder the position of the heart. I recommend 

 sportsmen to try the shot at the heart. 



Although it would seem to be easy to follow such large 

 animals, an elephant-track is very difficult to recognise. 

 You need much practice and patience before you succeed, 

 and the majority of European elephant-hunters would be 

 unable to follow a track if they had not natives with them. 

 In my opinion one ought to do without them. Besides, is 

 it not humiliating not to be able to decipher these marks 

 on the ground when others read them fluently ? 



In conclusion, I will explain how the tusks of a dead 

 elephant are removed. There are two methods of going to 



FIG. 3. ELEPHANT CHARGING. 



A, Portion of brain seen from one side ; F, Direction 

 of bullet when facinsr the animal. 



