ELEPHANTS. 
537 
Elephant- Elephant-shooting, which is always practised on foot, is pro- 
Shootmg. nonneed to be the most dangerous of all sports by Sir Samuel Baker, 
since although many elephants may be killed without any danger or harm, it is 
almost inevitable that the charge of a wounded animal will have to be encountered 
sooner or later by the sportsman. In shooting the Indian elephant a thorough 
knowledge of the position of the brain in the skull is essential; as the three chief 
head-shots depend entirely on this. Of these three shots the one known as the 
front-shot should be planted in the forehead about three inches above the line of 
the eyes when the elephant is standing with its head in the ordinary position and 
facing the sportsman. When, however, the elephant is charging with its head 
thrown up, the front shot to prove fatal must be aimed much lower down, in the 
upper part of the trunk, and as the bullet has then to traverse a great thickness of 
flesh and bony tissue before reaching the brain, everything depends upon its pene¬ 
trating power. Indeed, although elephants have frequently been killed by well- 
planted bullets from small-bore rifles, all who have had much experience of this 
sport are unanimous as to the importance of shooting with rifles of heavy 
calibre. The other two fatal shots in the head are the side, or temple-shot, and 
the rear-shot just behind the ear. The shot behind the shoulder is not in much 
favour. 
Allusion has already been made to the generally timid and pacific nature of 
the wild Indian elephant; and there can be little doubt that in many cases, when 
these animals charge, they do so more from sudden alarm and fright than from any 
innate viciousness. 
When an elephant does charge, it requires all the coolness and presence of 
mind of the sportsman to avoid a catastrophe. “A grander animated object,” 
writes Mr. Sanderson, “ than a wild elephant in full charge can hardly be imagined. 
The cocked ears and broad forehead present an immense frontage; the head is 
held high, with the trunk curled between the tusks, to be uncoiled in the moment 
of attack; the massive fore-legs come down with the force and regularity of 
ponderous machinery; and the whole figure is rapidly foreshortened, and appears to 
double in size with each advancing stride. The trunk being curled and unable to 
emit any sound, the attack is made in silence, after the usual premonitory shriek, 
which adds to its impressiveness. The usual pictorial representations of the Indian 
elephant charging with upraised trunk are accordingly quite incorrect.” 
In some cases the sportsman has to stalk a herd of elephants, and to pick out 
the finest tusker from among the males in the rear; while at other times he has to 
track up a particular solitary male, which may be either a “ rogue ” or a herd-tusker 
temporarily separated from his companions. When a herd discovers the presence 
of a foe, the individual that first scents him usually gives vent to a short, shrill 
trumpet, upon which the rest stand perfectly still for a few minutes before making 
up their minds in which direction to flee. But at other times the whole herd may 
make off at once, without a sound being uttered. Sometimes the herd will mistake 
the direction of the danger, and stampede straight for the sportsmen, whose position 
is then one of considerable danger; his best plan being to stand alongside a tree or 
clump of bamboo. In cases where they are unaccustomed to the sound of firearms, 
Mr. Sanderson states that elephants will stand huddled together, shrinking at the 
