as the hooked thorns rendered any sudden movement
almost impracticable. In another moment,
there was a tremendous crash ; and, with a sound
like a whirlwind, the herd dashed through the
crackling jungle. I rushed forward, as I was uncertain
whether they were in advance or retreat;
leaving a small sample of my nose upon a kittar
thorn, and tearing my way, with naked arms,
through what, in cold blood, would have appeared
impossible. I caught sight of two elephants leading
across my path, with the herd following in a dense
mass behind them. Firing a shot at the leading
elephant, simply in the endeavour to check the
herd, I repeated with the left-hand barrel at the
head of his companion; this staggered him, and
threw the main body into confusion: they immediately
closed up in a dense mass, and bore everything
before them, but the herd exhibited merely
an impenetrable array of hind quarters wedged
together so firmly that it was impossible to obtain
a head or shoulder shot. I was within fifteen
paces of them, and so compactly were they packed,
that with all their immense strength they could
not at ■ once force so extensive a front through the
tough and powerful branches of the dense kittar.
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 dan-'
gerous 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
Beilly 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 i 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. She collapsed to the shot, and fell
dead, with a heavy shock, upon the ground. At
the same moment, the thorny barrier gave way
before the. pressure of the herd, and the elephants
tr 2