sible to see more than twenty or thirty feet from
where one stood, in any direction but skyward; so the
natives appeared to be guided more by sound than
sight.
Elephants break the bushes when feeding, occasionally
trumpeting softly through their trunks, thereby
making a sound similar to the loud purr of a ca t; so
that a hunter possessed of a keen sense of hearing
can fix the position of the brute by sound, and need
not depend upon sight. Unfortunately my sense of
hearing is none too acute; so I depended entirely
upon the two natives, who preceded me, to show me
the whereabouts of the elephant. After informing me
of the position of the brutes, and satisfying themselves
that I knew of their whereabouts, most of the Wan-
derobbo halted, and I was left with my two gun-bearers
and two guides. I had also taken with me Felix, the
fox-terrier, and his two puppies, the latter by this
time grown sufficiently to follow us on the march.
As soon as we came upon the fresh signs of elephants,
these three dogs had commenced to whine
and evince such excitement, that I left them in charge
of the Wanderobbo who remained behind, and pushed
on without them. We moved on steadily for half an
hour, when my guides suddenly stopped, their eyes
blazing with suppressed excitement, and pointed to a
small opening fifty feet away. There in the opening
I saw a good-sized elephant. When satisfied that I
had seen the elephant, my guides silently and swiftly
disappeared. It was standing broadside on, and all
but its head and ears and the highest portion of its
back was concealed by the thick growth. I was armed
with a .577. I took careful aim at the outer edge of
the huge ear of the beast, and discharged my rifle.
As soon as the smoke cleared sufficiently to permit
me to get another sight, I fired the, second barrel.
The sound of the report had scarcely died away, when
a dreadful crashing and trumpeting was heard, and
straight at me through the bush came — I knew not
what. I turned for another rifle, but both gun-bearers
had fled, and I was alone with an empty rifle. No,
not alone; for Felix, the fox-terrier, had by some means
escaped from the men who held him, and there stood
by my side, his ears pricked to attention, and his tail
trembling with excitement. All this occurred in a
few seconds, and I had scarcely realized my helpless
condition, when I saw five elephants rushing at me,
and not more than fifteen feet distant. I leaped to
one side, and in so doing pierced my arm and shoulder
with some thorns, which gave me such pain that
I stopped, and expected that in a second I should be
trampled under foot. What was my surprise at this
moment to see Felix, fired with ardour for the chase,
dash straight at the foremost elephant, and, leaping
upon him, bite vigorously at some portion of his body,
all the while barking in his most vigorous manner.
The brutes at once halted, and with- a scream of fright
turned sharply to the right, and — I was saved. I
had two extra cartridges in my pocket; but, as I had
expected to seize a freshly loaded rifle, I had not at
first attempted to place them in my weapon. Now
that I had time for thought, I slipped one in, and got
a shot at the head of the rear elephant, as it disappeared
in the bush, not six feet from me. I do not