For About Half A Minute They Were
Absolutely Checked, And They Bored Forward With All Their Might
In Their Determination
To open a road through the matted thorns:
the elastic boughs, bent from their position, sprang back with
dangerous force,
And would have fractured the skull of any one
who came within their sweep. A very large elephant was on the
left flank, and for an instant this turned obliquely to the left;
I quickly seized the opportunity and fired the "Baby," with an
explosive shell, aimed far back in the flank, trusting that it
would penetrate beneath the opposite shoulder. The recoil of the
"Baby," loaded with ten drachms of the strongest powder and a
half-pound shell, spun me round like a top--it was difficult to
say which was staggered the most severely, the elephant or
myself; however, we both recovered, and I seized one of my double
rifles, a Reilly No. 10, that was quickly pushed into my hand by
my Tokroori, Hadji Ali. This was done just in time, as an
elephant from the baffled herd turned sharp round, and, with its
immense ears cocked, it charged down upon us with a scream of
rage. "One of us she must have if I miss!"
This was the first downright charge of an African elephant that
I had seen, and instinctively I followed my old Ceylon plan of
waiting for a close shot. She lowered her head when within about
six yards, and I fired low for the centre of the forehead,
exactly in the swelling above the root of the trunk.
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