ELEPHANT HUNTING. 553 



the bursting of the big rifle, did not catch this sound, but 

 swore that the elephant which now so stealthily approached 

 the water was the one at which we had fired. 



It was interesting to observe this grand old bull approach 

 the fountain : he seemed to mistrust the very earth on which 

 he stood, and smelt and examined with his trunk every yard 

 of the ground before he trod on it, and sometimes stood five 

 minutes on one spot without moving. At length, having 

 gone round three sides of the fountain, and being apparently 

 satisfied as to the correctness of everything, he stepped 

 boldly forward on to the rock on the west, and, walking up 

 within six or seven yards of the muzzles of our rifles, turned 

 his broadside, and, lowering his trunk into the water, drew 

 up a volume of water, which he threw over his back and 

 shoulders to cool his person. This operation he repeated 

 two or three times, after which he commenced drinking, by 

 drawing the water into his trunk and then pouring it into 

 his mouth. I determined to break his leg if possible; so, 

 covering the limb about level with the lower line of his body, 

 I fired, Carey firing for his heart. I made a lucky shot; 

 and as the elephant turned and attempted to make away, 

 his leg broke with a loud crack, and he stood upon his three 

 sound ones. At once disabled and utterly incapable of 

 escaping, he stood statue-like beside the fountain, within a 

 few yards of where he had got the shot, and only occasion- 

 ally made an attempt at locomotion. 



The patch of my rifle fired at this elephant's comrade had 

 ignited a large ball of dry old dung, about eight yards to 

 leeward of our kraal, and, fanned by the breeze, it was 

 now burning away very brightly, the sparks flying in the 

 wind. Presently, on looking about me, I beheld two bull 

 elephants approaching by the self-same foot-path which the 

 others had held. The first of these was a half-grown bull, 

 the last was an out-and-out old fellow with enormous tusks. 

 They came on as the first had done, but seemed inclined 



