The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-04-08
An ELEPHANT HUNT.
How to Surely Bring the Monarch
Down.

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An american Travellers Story of the First
One He Kflled-Manner of Trapping
the Beast for rShowmen-Sagaci-
ty of Elephants in Labor.
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.sThe day / shot my first. elephant, "
said an old British Indian, twill always
be ared letter day in my sporting calen-
dar. 1t was in the Island of Ceylon,
that pearl of the Indian Ocean, lying at
the foot of the great peninsula of Hin
.dostaa, the Lanka of the ancients and
tbp Serendib of the days of Solomon
The Wise, and sacred in the eyes OF all
good Buddhists, for is 1t not there
where the tooth Of the great god lies
upon the golden lotos leaf? Ceylon is
the paradise of sportsmen, the beau
ideal of a perfect hunting country. All
kinds of game abound in the low coun-
try and the vast. forests. of the interior
Of the island, from the slowly and wary
flying snipe to the lordly elephant.
True, there are no tigers as in India,
but they have an equivalent in the
stealthy and fierce cheetah, which, in
strength and cunning very nearly, if it
does not quite, approach the Royal
"0n the day in question T had started,
in company with a friend, from Trim
GONZALEZ, the British naval station of
the island and perhaps the finest har-
bor in the world, and after driving
some forty miles into. the interior we
left the 'bandy' and made tracks into
4he Jungle. We were both armed with
express rifles, which in my opinion
are by far the best weapons for elephant
shooting, and we were in hopes that
ere long we would come ON the trail of
the ami, nor were we disappointed,
for shortly our attention was drawn by
the native guides to the young bamboos
on the side Of the path, which bore un-
mistakable signs that an elephant had
been feeding there. aSoon we crane ON
furtherk kevidence of his presence, and
on we went, our eyes on the ground.
toiling through the jungle after che ele-
phant. And, oh, the heat! And. oh.
the thirst! Every now and then we
had to halt and wipe the perspiration
from our brows. and send a native
'shnAing upa cocoannt tree for one
OF the young nuts, from which we
eagerly drankB the milk. Y We were
hours toiling ateer that brute and
thought we wonld never come up to
ann. AT last the trail led right into a
sorI OF oasis of patna, or grass land, in
me middle of which there was an
iSandet Jungle. The trail went straight
INTO this, so we were sure
that we had Sir. Jumbo at last. Ny
HleDI Jack p went round to one side
wf'ie | remained on the other, and
hea ,We sent lbeaters in at'eachS end to
srNe the elephant out. Suddenly l
heard cracking of brushwood, then
loud trumpet, and. Jacks = voice
shouting that the elephant had turned
and was coming mVsway. i Iremember.
well wishing devoutly that he had gone
N any other direction, but | had not
much time for thinking, as in q minute
Or SO out came the huge brute He
vas rogue and a big one, to boot. A
rogue is an elephant that has been
aryen from the herd for some miscon-
auct or other, and he is generally
mad, wandering about the country.
alone and doing all the damage he can.
nls hand is against every man and
every mans hand is against him. A
ogue elephant is thesonly kind you
ean shoot, as the elephantsin herds are
very strictly preserved by the Ceylon
oosernment. Well, when this gentle
nan came. out ref the Jungle he lgazedI
aoout 4 MIN Tor a second or two, and
aen, catching sight of me, raised his
Sunk and gave 4 trumpet that would
nave made the angel Gabriel green
sa1n envy, and then charged right at
a'e Now comes the difficult part of
aepIsntA shooting. There is only one
sunerable spot on Ceylon elephant,
sau that is q small oval spot, in
sae ~ only few inches. just. above
'ae trunk. Yon might fire d battery
gatlings at any other spot and fail to
ang him down, and once I counted
ssseens bullet marks in an elephants
sssii we killed, and not one of which
Ma probably gifen him more I than 4
s,'gns headache. When an elephant
aafges he raises his trunk so that it
sav;,se raosscH this vital spot, and trumpets
4 ,l'y hoping BY this means, no Doubt
4 : scare the hunter. When he is ,withE
a. ~ PAGES he lowers his trunk and at
"a. e ssme time brings his head down,
.sF vac snanncr of abull when charg-
Now is the time to fire. 1t is an
ous moment, and for one who was
M;as ~ Srlmn at the game it was any.
fr;sas, ons pleasant. There was no
Htsss .'laY tree near, and there was but
81 a = acnance Of escape through the jun
fn;s missed as it would require a
anas.alor lor me 70 cut through the thick
"a tse ssoWth, while the elephant could
q esna ss.ough $ it alike apack-thread. b On
s'a'e she elephant. the ground ',si almost