56 THE ELEPHANT 



move by the breadth of a finger in any part of his 

 vast body, run speedily but quietly behind him 

 and fire a shot straight through the centre of the 

 top of his skull. This will make assurance doubly 

 sure. I have known cases where elephants have 

 fallen with a bullet in the head apparently stone 

 dead, and the gratified hunter, having dashed 

 after the herd to get, if possible, another shot, 

 has returned to find that the beast was only 

 stunned by a faultily directed bullet, and has got 

 up and gone off, ultimately to recover and very 

 likely to prove extremely dangerous and vicious 

 to future hunters. 



The elephant killed by me on this occasion 

 was a splendid animal, and one of the largest I 

 have secured. His measurements taken on the 

 spot were as follows : Shoulder height, 10 ft. 

 11 J in. ; extreme length from end of tail to tip 

 of trunks 26 ft. 2 in. ; circumference of left ear, 

 15 ft. 9 in. ; circumference of left fore-foot, 

 4 ft. 6 in. 



One of the most unusual of my hunting ex- 

 periences connected with elephants took place in 

 the Cheringoma Mountains south of the Zambezi 

 on the occasion of my last hunting excursion into 

 that interesting region. At a certain point on 

 the plateau of this range, the elsewhere consistent 

 forest breaks up into a number of open, park-like 

 expanses whereon the grass is weak and thin, 

 and the exuberant growths which form the im- 

 penetrable jangles of the lower forest do not form 

 such a hindrance alike to movement and vision. 

 On the occasion referred to my camp was pitched 



