146 



MAMMALIA. 



[Chap. IV. 



Contrasted with this, one reads with a shudder the 

 sickening details of the African huntsman approaching 

 behind the retiring animal, and of the torture inflicted 

 by the shower of bullets which tear up its flesh and 

 lacerate its flank and shoulders. 1 



' front er,' that is, above the trunk. 

 Behind the ear is said to be deadly, 

 but that is a shot which I never 

 fired or saw fired that I remember. 

 If the ball go true to its mark, all 

 shots (in the head) are certain ; 

 but the bones on either side of the 

 honey-comb passage to the brain 

 are so thick that there is in all a 

 'glorious uncertainty' which keeps 

 a man on the qui vive till he sees 

 the elephant down." — From a paper 

 on Elephant Shooting in Ceylon, by 

 Major M acre ad y, late Military 

 Secretary at Colombo. 



1 In Mr. Gordon Cumming's ac- 

 count of a Hunter's Life in South 

 Africa, there is a narrative of his 

 pursuit of a wounded elephant 

 which he had lamed by lodging a 

 ball in its shoulder-blade. It limped 

 slowly towards a tree, against 

 which it leaned itself in helpless 

 agony, whilst its pursuer seated 

 himself in front of it, in safety, to 

 boil his coffee, and observe its suffer- 

 ings. The story is continued as 

 follows: — ''Having admired him 

 for a considerable time, I resolved 

 to make experiments on vulnerable 

 points ; and approaching very near 

 I fired several bullets at different 

 parts of his enormous skull. He 

 only acknowledged the shots by a 

 salaam-like movement of his trunk, 

 with the point of which he gently 

 touched the wounds with a strik- 

 ing and peculiar action. Surprised 

 and shocked at finding that I was 

 only prolonging the sufferings of the 

 noble beast, which bore its trials 

 with such dignified composure, I 



resolved to finish the proceeding 

 with all possible despatch, and ac- 

 cordingly opened fire upon him 

 from the left side, aiming at the 

 shoulder. I first fired six shots 

 with the two-grooved rifle, which 

 must have eventually proved mortal. 

 After which I fired six shots at the 

 same part with the Dutch six- 

 pounder. Large tears now tricMed 

 from his eyes, which he slowly shut 

 and opened, his colossal frame 

 shivered convulsively, and falling 

 on his side, he expired" (Vol. ii. 

 p. 10.) . 



In another place, after detailing 

 the manner in which he assailed a 

 poor animal — he says, "I was 

 loading and firing as fast as could 

 be, sometimes at the head, some- 

 times behind the shoulder, until 

 my elephant's fore-quarter was a 

 mass of gore ; notwithstanding 

 which he continued to hold on, 

 leaving the grass and branches of 

 the forest scarlet in his wake. * 

 * * Having fired thirty-five rounds 

 with my two-grooved rifle, I opened 

 upon him with the Dutch six- 

 pounder, and when forty bullets 

 had perforated his hide, he began 

 for the first time, to evince signs of 

 a dilapidated constitution." The 

 disgusting description is closed 

 thus : " Throughout the charge he 

 repeatedly cooled his person with 

 large quantities of water, which he 

 ejected from his trunk over his 

 sides and back, and just as the 

 pangs of death came over him, he 

 stood trembling violently beside a 

 thorn tree, and kept pouring water 



