THE INDIAN ELEPHANT 27 



will acquaint you with the fact. Lose no time 

 in getting up to him, and giving him his quietus 

 before he finds his legs. An elephant's head 

 is a mass of cellular tissue, and a shot anywhere 

 except in the brain won't bother him much. 

 I need hardly say that if you let him get away 

 you may make up your mind to having seen 

 the last of him. If you have luckily found the 

 brain, further proceedings will cease to interest 

 him, and all that remains to be done is to cut 

 off his tail and walk home in triumph. 



Now a word as to the shots to be tried for. 

 It is astonishing what a number of men go after 

 elephants with but a hazy idea of where to put 

 their bullets. Do not be tempted to try body 

 shots, except as a last resource. It is a cruel, 

 and frequently useless, proceeding. An elephant 

 hit well forward in the body will certainly die 

 — in time — but he may go forty miles or more, 

 and the chances are that you will lose him in 

 heavy jungle. With patience you can make 

 pretty certain of getting a good chance at the 

 head, and it is so satisfactory to terminate the 

 hunt with a well-placed bullet in the fatal 

 spot. The shots to be tried for are four in 

 number. 



1. The forehead shot. — Aim at the bump 

 just above the base of the trunk when the 

 animal is facing you with head held level. If 

 you are on higher ground than the elephant, aim 

 just above the bump. If below the animal, 



D 2 



