ELEPHANTS 65 
on, guided only by the calls of the men in the trees. 
Insects swarmed about us, biting until we were 
frantic. Sometimes the noise on either the left or 
the right suddenly increased, and we knew that the 
herd had veered in that direction and that the men 
were frightening them off. 
Dawn came, and we found that we had driven 
them a mile and a half. It had been exhausting 
work. I posted guards to watch the herd, and we 
slept until late in the afternoon. Our bodies were 
covered with welts from insect bites and the sting 
of nettles and were torn and scratched by the sharp 
vines; and I was throbbing with the fever. When 
darkness came again, it seemed to me that the enter- 
prise was all a wild nightmare. 
Early the next day the stampede hit us without 
warning. A small elephant, straying from the herd, 
saw some of the men on the right; he ran back, 
trumpeting the danger. Then the bellowing herd 
came down upon us. 
Ali shoved my rifle into my hands and I jumped 
behind a tree. The Siamese priest stumbled and fell. 
Before I could shoot, a big bull elephant stepped 
on him and tore him in two, throwing the upper 
portion of his body over my head. I was spattered 
with blood. Elephants, bellowing furiously, rushed 
past us; men screamed and scrambled for places of 
safety. The immense animals loomed up in the 
darkness for a second and then disappeared. In 
their excitement some collided with trees. 
