chap, vii.] CHARACTER OF COUNTRY AND ITS SPORTS. 189 
intention, that had she not been stopped, she must 
have caught one of the party. When within about 
five yards of the muzzle, I killed her dead by a fore¬ 
head shot with a hardened bullet as described, from a 
Eeilly No. 10 rifle, and we subsequently recovered the 
bullet in the vertebra of the neck! 
This extraordinary penetration led me to suppose 
that I should always succeed as I had done in Ceylon, 
and I have frequently stood the charge of an African 
elephant until close upon me, determined to give the 
forehead shot a fair trial, but I have always failed, 
except in the instance now mentioned ; it must also be 
borne in mind that the elephant was a female, with a 
head far inferior in size and solidity to that of the male. 
The temple shot, and that behind the ear, are equally 
fatal in Africa as in Ceylon, provided the hunter can 
approach within ten or twelve yards; but altogether 
the hunting is far more difficult, as the character of the 
country does not admit of an approach sufficiently close 
to guarantee a successful shot. In the forests of Ceylon 
an elephant can be stalked to within a few paces, and 
the shot is seldom fired at a greater distance than ten 
yards : thus accuracy of aim is insured; but in the 
open ground of Africa, an elephant can seldom be 
approached within fifty yards, and should he charge 
the hunter, escape is most difficult. I never found 
African elephants in good jungle, except once, and on 
that occasion I shot five, quite as quickly as we should 
kill them in Ceylon. 
The character of the sport must vary according to 
the character of the country; thus there may be parts 
of Africa at variance with my description. I only 
relate my own experience. 
Among other weapons, I had an extraordinary rifle 
that carried a half-pound percussion shell—this in¬ 
strument of torture to the hunter was not sufficiently 
heavy for the weight of the projectile; it only weighed 
twenty pounds : thus, with a charge of ten drachms 
of powder, behind a half-pound shell, the recoil wa 
