, 775* November. W O felf about them, till they came within iixty or feventy paces of him; when one of them at that inftant, after the ufual manner of the Cape huntfmen, jumped off his horfe, and, fecuring the bridle, fell upon one knee, and with his left hand fixing his ramrod, upon which he refted his piece, into the ground, took his aim and fixed on the elephant, which then had got about forty or fifty paces farther off : for in this country, when they hunt the larger kind of animals, they generally choofe to take the opportunity of ihooting at the diftance o f one hundred and fifty paces; partly becaufe they load their pieces in fuch a manner, that the ball, in their opinion, has the greateft effeit at that diftance; and partly at this diftance, they can get time to mount their horfes again, and make off, before the wounded animal can come up to them to take his revenge. Our fportfman had fcarcely got into the faddle, and t u r n e d his horfe’s head round, before he found that the elephant was at his heels. Juft at that inftant the creature had fet up a iharp ihrill cry, which he thought he felt pierce to the very marrow of his bones; and which caufed his horfe likewife to make feveral hafty leaps, and afterwards fet off galloping with an incredible fwiftnefs. In the mean while the huntfman had the prefence of mind to ride his horfe up an afcent, knowing that elephants and other large animals are flow and unwieldly going up hill, in proportion to their weight, but the contrary in going down hill. On this account he galloped off with the greateft fecurity, and at the fame time his companion had the more leifure to advance to one fide of the elephant, where he thought he could eafieft dire£t his ihot at the heart and larger larger arteries belonging to the lungs of the animal. This, No^ 5b'er however, did not hit any dangerous part, as the horfe was unruly and pulled at the bridle, which the man had hung over his right arm, at the time that, in the fame manner as the former, he had jumped off his horfe and fired his piece. The elephant, which now turned upon this latter, was foon tired of purfuing him, as he had an opportunity of riding from it up a ftill fteeper hill than his companion. Afterwards the two hunters found it anfwer better to hold each other’s horfes, fo that they fhould not get away, while each of the fportfmen fired their pieces by turns.. The elephant, even after the third ball, ftill: threatened- vengeance ; but the fourth entirely cooled his courage : however, he did not abfolutely drop till he had received the eighth. Several experienced hunters of elephants -have neverthelefs affined me, that one fingle ball is fufficient to bring an elephant to the ground, but for this purpofe it is neceffary, 1 ft, That the bore of the piece be large enough to admit of a ball weighing about three, or leaft above two ounces. adly, That the piece be well flocked, which will- enable it to bear a higher charge ; for it muft be obferved, that the farmers,, for the purpofe of hunting the elephant, fea-cow, rhinoceros, and even the buffalo, generally chufe and pay a good price for the old-faihioned.Swediih and Danifh muikets, which at prefent, on account of their great weight and clumfinefs, are: no longer in .u fe ; but they generally put a ftronger ftock to them than they .had before, in order that they may bear a charge fo mucli the higher
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