alan le i als ae 
THE ELEPHANT _ 211 
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“unable to see before, where they had again waited for a 
time. At 12.30 we came to the top of another rise, and I 
saw a large bit of forest and dense bush lying in the hollow 
_ below us. My spirits began to rise, but before entering it 
_ I sat down for another short rest; feeling quite sure that the 
_ elephants were inside, as we had just found some dung that 
was quite warm. As I sat smoking a pipe I heard the crack 
of a branch being broken ring through the forest. Jumping up 
and putting two or three cartridges both for the 4-bore and 
8-bore into my pockets, we entered the dense bush, which was 
some 15 to 20 ft. high, and soon afterwards heard the crack 
of another branch right ahead of us. Thinking the elephants 
might be scattered about feeding, and not wishing to run the 
risk of any of them getting our wind, I sent one of my gun- 
bearers up a tall thin tree to see if he could make out their 
whereabouts. He soon spotted them, well to windward of us, 
about 150 yards off, and on coming-down from the tree 
" reported that they were all together, moving along slowly and 
feeding as they went. Taking the 4-bore from the second gun- 
bearer, I crept forward with my head gun-bearer carrying the 
8-bore, and on coming to a place where the covert was rather 
more open, I saw a large dark bush violently shaken some 
7° yards ahead of us, and at the same time heard another 
branch being torn off a tree more to my right. 
I then sent my gun-bearer through a small gap in the bush 
on my right to see if he could sight the beast that had broken 
the branch, and in a very few seconds he signalled to me 
by snapping his fingers (the usual method of attracting atten- 
tion). As I crept through the gap I saw two elephants about 
7° yards off in a small open hollow, one standing stern end 
4 on, the other, a grand beast, broadside on, but with only 
_ his head showing from behind a big bush. As 70 yards is 
too far for a head shot, IT crept forward to within 40 yards 
4 of him; but at that moment he stepped out clear of the 
’ bush, giving me a grand chance, of which I immediately 
_ availed myself, and before he knew where he was he had 
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