The Elephant 23 



best advantage of the circumstances, and, above all, coolness and calm self- 

 control at the supreme moment are of more importance to ensure success ; 

 the steady hand follows as a matter of course. At such very close quarters 

 as the shot has to be generally taken, there is not much room for incorrect 

 shooting, if only the hunter keep calm. But should the taunt be indulged in 

 that it is no more difficult than shooting haystacks, it may be pointed out 

 that your live, wild haystack is not easy to kill ; and, moreover, that when 

 it bears down upon you, pouring upon your head, it may be, a shrill 



'■*■■' ' ■■.'■. .. ' - •■'■ 





Fig. 4.— Elephants photographed by Lord Dclamcre on the lower slopes of Mount Marsabit, 



in the Rcndile Country, S.E. of Lake Rudolph. 



The long tusk of the elephant on the right hand measured 9 feet 4 or 5 inches on the outside curve. 



trumpet-blast, with harshly falling cadence— you being encompassed by a 

 thorny barrier which is no obstacle to the haystack— your sensations are 

 more thrilling than when contemplating the question from the secure 

 vantage-ground of your arm-chair. Of the nature of those sensations it is 

 impossible to convey any adequate idea in words. Mr. F. J. Jackson has 

 given as lucid a definition of the hunter's feelings when nearing this game 

 as is possible in such concise form, when he describes him as being at that 

 moment " a curious mixture of coolness and intense excitement." Nor 

 could the most elaborate attempt do much more. How can the exquisite, 



