relied upon, although so fatal to the Indian species:
this increased the danger^ tenfold, as in Ceylon I
had generally made certain of an elephant by steadily
waiting until it was close upon me:
I now reloaded my rifles, and the aggageers quitted
the jungle to remount their horses, as they expected
the herd had broken cover on the other side of the
jungle; in which case they intended to give chase,
and, if possible, to turn them back into the covert,
and drive them towards the guns. We accordingly
took our stand in the small open glade, and I lent
Florian one of my double rifles, as'he was only provided
with one single-barrelled elephant gun. I did
not wish to destroy the prestige of the rifles, by
hinting to the aggageers that it would be rather
awkward for us to receive the charge of the infuriated
herd, as the foreheads were invulnerable;
but inwardly I rather hoped that they would not
come so direct upon our position as the aggageers
wished.
About a quarter of an hour passed in suspense,
when we suddenly heard a chorus of wild cries of
excitement on the other side of the jungle, raised
by the aggageers who had headed the herd, and were
driving them back towards us. In a few minutes
a tremendous crashing in the jungle, accompanied
by the occasional shrill scream of a savage elephant,
and the continued shouts of the mounted a g - g a g f e e r s ,
D O O “ assured us that they were bearing down exactly upon
our direction; they were apparently followed even
through the dense jungle by the wild and reckless
Arabs. I called my men close together, and' told
them to stand fast, and hand me the guns quickly ;
and we eagerly awaited the onset that rushed towards
us like a storm. On they came, tearing everything
before them. For a moment the jungle quivered and
crashed ; a second later, and, headed by an immense
elephant, the herd thundered down upon us. The
great leader carnè direct at me, and was received
with right and left in the forehead from a Reilly
No. 10 as fast as I could pull the triggers. The shock
made it reel backwards for an instant, and fortunately
turned it, and the herd, likewise. My second rifle was
beautifully handed, and I made a quick right and
left at the temples of two fine elephants, dropping
them both stone-dead. At this moment the “Baby”
was pushed into my hand by Hadji Ali just in time
to take the shoulder of the last of the herd, who had
already charged headlong after his comrades, and was
disappearing in the jungle. Bang ! went the “ Baby
round I spun like a weathercock, with the blood pouring
from my nose, as the recoil had driven the sharp
top of the hammer deep into the bridge. My “ Baby ”
not only screamed, but kicked viciously! However,
I knew that the elephant must be bagged, as the
half-pound shell had been aimed directly behind the
shoulder.
In a few minutes the aggageers arrived ; they were
bleeding from countless scratches, as, although naked,
-with the exception of short drawers, they had forced