i7o ADVENTURES OF AN ELEPHANT HUNTER ch. 
revealed that all my organs were sound and 
healthy. 
A considerable supply of clothes, such as khaki 
shirts and trousers, and of light shoes for 
running in, is a necessity, and I find that very thin 
cotton vests, which I immediately change when 
soaked with perspiration, are the best. My boy 
carries two or three changes of these vests in a 
small waterproof wallet over his shoulder. 
Perhaps, when discussing big game and big game 
hunting, a few remarks on rifles will not be out of 
place, but as the subject is naturally one open to 
endless discussion, I shall express a personal 
opinion rather than dogmatize. During my hunt¬ 
ing career, I have used all kinds of rifles from the 4 
bore, black powder, elephant rifle downwards, but as 
the black powder rifle is a thing of the past, I shall 
confine my attention to modern high-velocity, smoke¬ 
less powder rifles, which are infinitely superior to 
their predecessors on account of their greater range, 
velocity, power and lightness. 
In the first place, the man behind the rifle is so 
obviously of primary importance that the fact may 
be dismissed without further comment, while the 
great consideration in all hunting is to kill and not 
merely to wound the game fired at. With regard 
to the weapon, practically any modern rifle will kill 
game if the bullet penetrates a vital part such as the 
