Iowa territorial gazette and advertiser. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa Territory [Iowa]) 1840-1846, 1843-01-14
ELEPHANT SHOOTING IN INDIA

Extract Of letter dated Mercara, in
Coorg, August Is, l842.
'''Ihe wild elephant shooting has now
commenced; the grain is about knee deep
in the fields, and those mo,,strous animals
come down from the innermost recesses
Of the deep jungle and forest and hills, to
have green bite. They como in parties
OF about fifty, visit tho fields q. night, and
in the day time go back into the Jungle,
standing patiently in parties Of three or
tour. until it is time to come out and eat
again. They are generally found in
deep ravines and water courses, par,icu-
larly those oyergrown with bamboo jun
gle, which not only affords concealment
but food, the elephant being fond Of the
tender branches As yet have not been
out after them, as it is ,ery wet work, and
not at all the thing Tor person subject
to tho rheuma.lsm; however, young en-.
sign who shot one the other day, near
this, afterwards rode over and dined with
Bell and me; he described it thus: Il
went with single Coorg, "a native Of
this place. he carrying the rifle, with
a.: double -oarre, ,..a gun, loaded with ball
and went along yalleyy between two
hills covered with deep forest and ban-
boo jungle. then got into deep rayine
full OF bamboo SO thick that had the
greatest difficulty to get along; it was the
same place which they used to frequent
last year; could not see more than three
or four yards before me, but heard sound
Ola branch being broken Oft close in
front, and then saw an elephant. 'Tus-
carr he had just broken down bumbou
with his trunk, and was curling ii in his
mouth to eat it'll crept softly round q
bush, and got up within eight PAGES
there was one thick bamboo bush between
US, through which gently put the muz.
zie OF the gun, aud then saw there were
three other elephants, each standing qui-
city with q bamboo in his trunk, switch.
lug it from side to side to knock the flies
OFT; this distracted my attention iora mo-
lnent, but seeing my first customer begin
to move his ioreicet, as ii he suspected
something, took careful steady aim a,
the middle Of his forehead and fred-he
turned to the ght as tito walk away, aud
then dropped down Oh his side stone
dead. The others ran of us fast as they
could pelt, making the branches crush ne
they broke down every obstacle that OPP.
posed their passage
s'lhe elephant is like the hare, in one
sense; he can see nothing straigh. before
him; SO that you may get close in front
without his perceiving il, il you can help
making q noise this is less difficult among
the thick bushes than might be imagined,
as tho rustling Of :he leaves by the wind
deadcns the sound Of "a careful iooistep.
No one ever fires at greater distance
than ten PAGES, the only place to his them
with any certainty. being The forehead
above the insertion OF The trunk Into the
head; brass balls are used, lead being toe
soft. Government gives handsome re-
ward FOL each elephant that is killed; be
sides, should it happen to BIZ s'ruscar,
the teeth sell from 3 to 8, or ElO pc,
pair, according to the weight; they &c,
the tusks out with but very little trouble
the animal is allowed to lay and purify
for two or three days; when the teeth
become quite loose in tho sockets, so a
to be- easily drawn out with the hand''
Moml-col Herald.