THE BUFFALO'S ATTACK. 161 



nificent fellow, with very fine horns, remained behind to 

 protect their retreat, facing us boldly as we advanced. When 

 we were a hundred yards from him the gallant beast charged, 

 head down between his forelegs, horns pointed to the front, 

 and tail in air ; a grand sight it was, the ground being bare 

 of all but rice stubble. As has been mentioned, my battery 

 was a light one, and therefore the bull was allowed to charge 

 up to twenty or five-and-twenty paces of my elephants before 

 he received two bullets on the shoulders, which caused him 

 to swerve, and two more rapidly followed in his ribs as he 

 pulled up, and turning upon the beating elephants, charged 

 home on a young female, and drove her screaming with fright 

 before him, butting at her broad stern for some distance. I 

 again approached the furious bull, as he faced the remaining 

 two after the rout of the elephant, and this time was per- 

 mitted to advance within sixty yards ere he repeated his rush ; 

 he got two more wounds about the neck, again swerving 

 from me towards the remaining beater, a tall strong male, 

 by whom he was received upon the points of his long tusks, 

 and hurled back upon his haunches, in which position two 

 more shots took effect upon him, and made him retire sulkily 

 a short distance. 



By this time my adversary had received eight one-ounce 

 bullets, fired with as heavy charges of powder as I dared to 

 use in my light guns, and was bleeding freely from some of 

 his wounds, while others showed only white spots upon his 

 tough black hide. I had failed up to this time to strike him 

 on the spine as I wished, and had not fired the rifle at all, 

 it being an old-fashioned single-barrel, throwing a half-ounce 

 ball ; so far then the bull, except for the encounter with the 

 male elephant, did not seem much the worse for his wounds ; 

 but he must have lost confidence in his powers, since, on 

 nearing him once more, he contented himself with an attitude 

 of defence, shaking his long horns, and pawing the ground, 

 when a couple more shots struck him, and made him take to 

 flight, getting in his stern the contents of the second gun and 

 the little rifle. 



M 



