Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1881-07-21
Hunted by AN Elephant.

"When first went out to India, said
the Major, leaning back in his chair,
''our regiment was stationed at some out
of-the-way place up country, where big
game of every sort abounded and L
heard nothing else talked of at mess but
tigers and bears, till felt quite insig
niticant at being the only one who had
never shot anything worth talking about
my great ambition III those days was
to shoot an elephant-why, Tn sure |
can't tell, except that it was the biggest
tilisss 30 ~ ~ nnr fellnws ..e,-.,, faupd
out my fancy, and, as you may think,
they made fun of it most numerically.
80 one night 1 took my elephant
gun, stole out without being seen by
anybody, and made straight for hollow
by the river side, where the beasts were
fond of coming to drink.
Il watched for "a good while without
seeing any sign of them, and was begin
ming to get very tired, and rather sulky
to boot, when suddenly heard distant
crashing among the thickets, and then a
sound like the blowing of a cracked
trumpet, which / had heard too often to
mistake for anything but what it was
the cry of the elephant Sure enough,
in another minute the huge black mass
stalked out from the shadow of the forest
into the full splendor of the moonlight
right past the tree in which l WAS
perched.
II had heard that the best spot to aim
at was the forehead, just above the trunk,
and so / did but being III hurry to
make sure of my game, l fired wildly,
and of course made bad shot. A bad
one it was for me in every sense, for
instead of the forehead my bullet grazed
the trunk itself, the tenderest and most
sensitive spot i'll an elephants body.
"The moment he felt the smart of the
wound he set up scream that went
| through my head like n steam whistle,
and came charging right down upon me.
Bang he came against the tree like an
express train, with shock that almost
knocked me off my perch, and in trying
to save myself l let fall my gun. Then
| he put his shoulder against the tree to
trv and push it down, and for a moment
| was really afraid he would; but, luckily
for me, it was a huge thick one, with
great roots that had dug into the earth
for yards round, and it proved a little
too tough for Mr.. Elephant.
But when the beast saw that he
couldn't reach me he didgo into fury,
and no mistake He stamped and
screamed until the whole place rang
again. and tore off the lower boughs,
thick as they were, as easily as I'd break
a flower stem, trampling them to pieces
under his feet in way that showed me
pretty well what l had to expect if
once fell into his clutches.
''By this time | had quite enough ex-
perience of elephant hunting, and would
have gladly given up all hope of win
ming ivory" to find myself safe back III my
quarters. So long as | was hunting the
elephant it was all very well, but when
the elephant took to hunting me L didn't
find the sport quite so amusing. L had
read plenty of such tales when was at
school, and always longed to have an adj
venture of the sort myself, but now that
[ had got one it somehow didn't feel sc
nice as / expected. Any way, here was
[ and there was the elephant, and now
that had lost my gun the only thing fol
me to do, as far as / could see, was tc
stay where | was till one or the other OF
us got tired of it.
''Well, the elephant seemed to get
tired of it first, and just as the first
streak of dawn began to show itself IL
the sky he turned round and walked lei
surely away. For minute or two
heard him crashing among the thickets
and then all was quiet again, as if he'G
gone right away.
"Now, thoug ght I, is my time to de
camp too, and down the tree I slipped
as nimbly as an acrobat; But 1 sool
found that I'd been reckoning withou
my host, for had hardly touched
the ground when there came crasl
like fifty mad bulls charging
through as many glass houses, and on
from the thicket, with his great whit'