At The Next Stride, The
Elephant Halted Dead Short In The Midst Of Its Tremendous Charge.
Taher Had Jumped Quickly On One Side, And Had Vaulted Into The
Saddle With His Naked Sword In Hand.
At the same moment, Roder,
who had led the chase, turned sharp round, and again faced the
elephant as
Before; stooping quickly from the saddle, he picked
up from the ground a handful of dirt, which he threw into the
face of the vicious-looking animal, that once more attempted to
rush upon him. It was impossible! the foot was dislocated, and
turned up in front like an old shoe. In an instant Taher was once
more on foot, and again the sharp sword slashed the remaining
leg. The great bull elephant could not move! the first cut with
the sword had utterly disabled it; the second was its death blow;
the arteries of the leg were divided, and the blood spouted in
jets from the wounds. I wished to terminate its misery by a
bullet behind the ear, but Taher Sheriff begged me not to fire,
as the elephant would quickly bleed to death without pain, and an
unnecessary shot might attract the Base, who would steal the
flesh and ivory during our absence. We were obliged to return
immediately to our far distant camp, and the hunters resolved to
accompany their camels to the spot upon the following day. We
turned our horses' heads, and rode direct towards home, which we
did not reach until nearly midnight, having ridden upwards of
sixty miles during the day.
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