Two persons, at most, to
attack; each person to be accompanied by only one gunbearer, who should
carry two spare guns. One good tracker should lead this party of five
people in single file. With great caution and silence, being well to
leeward of the elephants, he can thus generally be approached till
within twelve paces, and he is then killed by one shot before he knows
that danger is near. What with our gun-bearers, trackers, watchers and
ourselves, we were a party of sixteen persons; it was therefore
impossible to get near a rogue unperceived.
On the way to the tent I got a shot at a deer at full gallop on 'old
Jack.' It was a doe, who bounded over the plain at a speed that soon
out-distanced my horse, and I took a flying shot from the saddle with
one of my No. 10 rifles. I did not get the deer, although she was badly
wounded, as we followed the blood-tracks for some distance through thick
jungle without success.
This was altogether a blank day; and having thoroughly disturbed this
part of the 'Park,' we determined to up stick and move our quarters on
the following day towards the 'Cave,' according to the plan that we had
agreed upon for beating the country.
Dec. 3.--With the cook and the canteen in company we started at break of
day, leaving the servants to pack up and bring the coolies and tents
after us. By this arrangement we were sure of our breakfast wherever we
went, and we were free from the noise of our followers, whose scent
alone was enough to alarm miles of country down wind. We had our guns
all loaded, and carried by our respective gun-bearers close to the
horses, and, with Banda, old Medima, and a couple of trackers, we were
ready for anything.
We had ridden about six miles when we suddenly came upon fresh
elephant-tracks in a grassy hollow, surrounded by low rocky hills. We
immediately sent the men off upon the tracks, while we waited upon a
high plateau of rock for their return. They came back in about a quarter
of an hour, having found the elephants within half a mile.
They were in high lemon grass, and upon arrival at the spot we could
distinguish nothing, as the grass rose some feet above our heads. It was
like shooting in the dark, and we ascended some rising ground to improve
our position. Upon arrival on this spot we looked over an undulating sea
of this grass, interspersed with rocky hills and small patches of
forest. Across a valley we now distinguished the herd, much scattered,
going off in all directions. They had winded us, and left us but a poor
chance of catching them in such ground. Of course we lost no time in
giving chase. The sun was intensely hot--not a breath of air was
stirring, and the heat in the close, parched grass was overpowering.
With the length of start that the elephants had got, we were obliged to
follow at our best pace, which, over such tangled ground, was very
fatiguing; fortunately, however, the elephants had not yet seen us, and
they had accordingly halted now and then, instead of going straight off.
There were only four elephants together, and, by a great chance we came
up with them just as they were entering a jungle. I got a shot at the
last elephant and killed him, but the others put on more steam, and all
separated, fairly beating us, as we were almost used up by the heat.
This was very bad luck, and we returned in despair of finding the
scattered herd. We had proceeded some distance through the high grass,
having just descended a steep, rocky hill, when we suddenly observed two
elephants approaching along the side of the very hill that we had just
left. Had we remained in the centre of the hill, we should have met them
as they advanced. One was a large female, and the other was most
probably her calf, being little more than half-grown.
It was a beautiful sight to see the caution with which they advanced,
and we lay down to watch them without being seen. They were about 200
yards from us, and, as they slowly advanced along the steep hillside,
they occasionally halted, and, with their trunks thrown up in the air,
they endeavoured, but in vain, to discover the enemy that had so
recently disturbed them. We had the wind all right, and we now crept
softly up the hill, so as to meet them at right angles. The hillside was
a mass of large rocks overgrown and concealed by the high lemon grass,
and it was difficult to move without making a noise, or falling into the
cavities between the rocks.
I happened to be at the head of our line, and, long before I expected
the arrival of the elephants, I heard a rustling in the grass, and the
next moment I saw the large female passing exactly opposite me, within
five or six paces. I was on half-cock at the time, as the ground was
dangerous to pass over with a gun on full cock, but I was just quick
enough to knock her over before the high grass should conceal her at
another step. She fell in a small chasm, nearly upsetting the young
elephant, who was close behind her. Wortley killed him, while I took the
last kick out of the old one by another shot, as she was still moving.
We had thus only killed three elephants out of the herd, and, without
seeing more, we returned to the horses.
On finding them, we proceeded on our road towards the `Cave,' but had
not ridden above two miles farther when we again came upon fresh tracks
of elephants.
