2 l6 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAP. 
position for a shot at another a little farther off, which appeared 
the biggest, standing diagonally, head away, rather more than 
three-parts turned from me. She was standing under a kind of 
euphorbia or cactus tree and had a piece of a branch she had 
broken from it in her mouth, off which she was chewing the 
bark, the bare white end protruding on one side. The thick 
milky juice of this tree is excessively pungent, the least spurt 
of it in the eyes causing intense irritation. I should imagine 
the effect of swallowing any on the human stomach would be 
very serious ; but an elephant’s mucous membrane must be less 
sensitive. 
I waited a little ; but as they did not seem inclined to 
move at all, and fearing the two cows next me (which were 
very close) might get my wind if I delayed longer, I took a 
steady shot at the ribs of the big cow, calculating my aim so 
that the bullet, driving forward, would get her heart, and fired. 
She gave a tremendous grunting cry as she received the ball. 
As they began to stampede I got a snap at one of the others 
with the second barrel. Immediately after, the first appeared 
again for a second standing close by, after the rest had passed, 
and, with a scream, fell over. Looking round in hopes of 
discovering the second, I saw a rhinoceros standing close by, 
which, as it afterwards appeared, some of my men, who had 
been just behind and now came up, thought was a fallen 
elephant. 
Not wishing to waste more time, I followed up the spoor 
of the rest, and very soon came to where they had stood again. 
Possibly, if I had come on immediately after the collapse of 
the first, I might have got another chance here. Going on, we 
heard them rumbling, and soon sighted two, standing in a 
comparatively open space (as bush goes here). To be able to 
see elephants at all means that you are already pretty near, 
and a few quick, but stealthy, steps brought me quite close up 
to these. But, before I could get a chance to shoot, one came 
walking straight for me ; and as I could not well get out of 
