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

tusks levelled at me like bayonets, came
my friend the elephant, who had been
on the watch for me all the time
"Whether | should have run, or stood
my ground, and how | should have Jared
i'll either case, can never be known now,
for just ut that moment my foot slipped,
and down / came close to the tree. The
next moment there was smash as if two
trains had run into each other, and |
made sure that / was knocked into a
hundred pieces at least, and that it was
all over.
But | soon became aware that | was
still alive and sound, while n shrill,
frightened cry overhead told me- that it
was the elephant WHO had got the worst
of the bargain this time. | scrambled
to my feet, gingerly enough, for the
brute's great fore-legs were stamping
and pounding like steam-hammers with
i'll arms length of me, and there | saw
sight which, scared "a | was, made me
laugh till | could hardly stand.
81 had fallen just i'll time 10 escape
the blow of the elephants tusks, which
had stuck themselves SO deep into the
tree that he couldn't pull them out again;
and there he was, hard and fast, like n
ship run aground The animals look
of disgust and bewilderment at finding
himself i'll such fix was as good as "a
play to behold; but just then l was III
no humor tc top and admire it, for l
knew that he might possibly break loose
yet, and that if he did it would be all
up with me
my first impulse was TO take to my
heels mt once but the next moment /
thought better of it, and decided TO set
tie Mr.. Elephant instead. i picked up
and reloaded my gun(which had luckily
escaped his notice, or he'd have trampled
it to bits), and scrambling up into the
tree again, sent bullet into his forehead
which did its business, and left him
standing upright i'll very statuesque at
titude indeed.
"And now came the question Should
l keep the secret of my adventure or not?
On the one hand, had undoubtedly at
tained my ambition of shooting an ele
phant, but, on the other, the way i'll
which it had been done would be GER
tain to set the tongues of our mess wag
ging more numerically than ever.
But the decision was not left to me-
/ was still standing beside my game, de-
batting what to do, when l suddenly
heard a roar of laughter behind me that
made the whole forest echo again, and
there stood our old major, apparently
enjoying the scene.
Indeed, my boy" said he, you've
fairly beaten us all this time Instead
of troubling to catch the beast you've
made him catch himself; and very neatly
he's done ii. "
"Of course there was no hope of keep
ing my secret after that; SO the major
and / tramped back to the station,
where / had to tell the whole story from
bapill.ssa.eF IN end
''The first thing to he dune, however,
was to send off a lot of onr negroes to
cut the elephants tusk out of the uee,
and bring them back as a trophy. The
colonel had them stuck up i'll the mess
room, where they served as an lllustra-
ton to the story of my adventure, which
was told with unbounded applause every
time a stranger happened to dine with
lis. For more than a year after that our
fellows never called me anything but
The Grand Duke of IuscdHy,' which
always struck me as the poorest joke l
ever heard in my life. And that was
the end of my elephant hunt