The Elephant Had Trodden On The Stock
Of The Rifle, And It Bears The Marks Of His Foot To This Day.
In a few minutes I was unable to move.
We therefore sent to the tent for
the horses, and arrived at 6 P.M., having had a hard day's work from 5
A.M. without food.
On arrival at the tent we found Banda and the trackers.
There could not be a better exemplification of a rogue than in this
case. A short distance apart from the herd, he had concealed himself in
the jungle, from which position he had witnessed the destruction of his
mates. He had not stirred a foot until he saw us totally unprepared,
when he instantly seized the opportunity and dashed out upon me. If I
had attempted to run from him, I should have been killed, as he would
have struck me in the back; my only chance was in the course which I
pursued--to wait quietly until he was just over me, and then to jump on
one side; he thus struck me on the thickest part of the thigh instead of
striking me in the stomach, which he must have done had I remained in my
first position; this would have killed me on the spot.
I passed an uncomfortable night, my leg being very painful and covered
with wet bandages of vinegar and water. The bruise came out from my
ankle to my hip; the skin was broken where the tush had struck me, and
the blood had started under the skin over a surface of nearly a foot,
making the bruise a bright purple, and giving the whole affair a most
unpleasant appearance. The next morning I could not move my leg, which
felt like a sack of sand, and was perfectly numbed; however, I kept on a
succession of cold lotions, and after breakfast I was assisted upon my
horse, and we moved the encampment to Nielgalla. On the following day I
could just manage to hobble along, my leg being at least double its
usual size, and threatening to spoil my sport for the whole trip.
We were seated at breakfast when a native came in, bringing intelligence
of a herd of elephants about four miles distant. I was not in a state
for shooting, but I resolved to mount my steady old horse Jack, and take
my chance of revenge for my mishap. The guns were accordingly loaded,
and we started.
We had ridden through the Park for about three miles, and had just
turned round the corner of a patch of jungle, when we came suddenly upon
a large rogue elephant, who was standing in the open, facing us at about
seventy yards. The moment that he saw the horses he turned sharp round,
and retreated to a long belt of fine open forest which was close behind
him. There was no resisting the invitation upon such favourable ground,
and immediately dismounting, we followed him. I now found that my leg
was nearly useless, and I could only move at a snail's pace, and even
then with great pain. Upon reaching the forest, we found that the rogue
had decamped, not wishing to meet us in such advantageous ground. We
followed his tracks for a few hundred yards through the wood, till we
suddenly emerged upon a large tract of high lemon grass. Into this, our
cunning foe had retreated, and with my decreased powers of locomotion, I
did not wish to pursue him farther. I was at length persuaded by Banda
to make a trial, and we accordingly left the track, and pushed our way
through the high grass to some rising ground, from which we could look
over the surface of waving vegetation, and find out the exact position
of the elephant. While forcing our way through the dense mass, I
momentarily expected to hear the rush of the rogue charging down upon
us, and I was glad to find myself at length safe in the position we had
steered for.
Upon scanning the surface of the grass, I distinguished the elephant
immediately; he was standing close to the edge of the jungle in the high
grass facing us, at about 150 yards distant. He was a picture of intense
excitement and attention, and was evidently waiting for us. In the
position that we now occupied, we unavoidably gave him the wind, and he
of course almost immediately discovered us. Giving two or three shrill
trumpets, he paced quickly to and fro before the jungle, as though he
were guarding the entrance. To enter the high grass to attack him, would
have been folly, as he was fully prepared, and when once in the tangled
mass we could not have seen him until he was upon us; we therefore
amused ourselves for about ten minutes by shouting at him. During this
time he continued pacing backwards and forwards, screaming almost
without intermission; and having suddenly made up his mind to stand this
bullying no longer, he threw his trunk up in the air and charged
straight at us. The dust flew like smoke from the dry grass as he rushed
through it; but we were well prepared to receive him. Not wishing him to
come to close quarters with my useless leg, I gave him a shot with my
two-ounce rifle, at about 120 paces. It did not even check him, but it
had the effect of making him lower his trunk, and he came on at
undiminished speed. Taking the four-ounce rifle from Wallace, I heard
the crack of the ball as it entered his head at about 100 yards. He was
down! A general shout of exclamation rose from Banda and all the
gun-bearers. I reloaded the four-ounce immediately, and the ball was
just rammed home when we heard the supposed dead elephant roaring on the
ground. In another moment he regained his legs and stood with his
broadside exposed to us, stunned with the heavy ball in his head.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 61 of 90
Words from 61179 to 62192
of 91283
