Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1890-11-27
HOW ELEPHANTS FIGHT.

A Terrific Battle to the Death Fought by
Two Monster Tuskers.
It was my good fortune, writes cor
respondent to a Karachi paper, for some
years to spend some months every sea-
son in fine forest and hill country,
where my duties gave me chances of see
ing great deal of elephant, bison and
other big game that frequented those
parts. Our camp was on partially
isolated hill, good deal above the
surrounding country. We had been
some days in camp, but had not
been visited as usual by our friends,
the elephants, when one after
noon the sudden below of one, evil
IDENTIFY in pain, reused every one in
the camp. A hill man presently came
up to say that two large tuskers We're
hard at it clo.e by. Every one turned
out onto the hillside, from where it was
easy, even with the naked eye, to see
what was going on, while with a glass
even the movements of startled deer
could be made out.
About 700 or 500 yards below the
crowd watching the fight were the two
| tuskers. The one somew what nearer us, a
burly stout-built beast with short, pow
erful tusks, was evidently getting much
| the worse of the combat, and the white
and red burrows in his sides and rear
| plainly indicated seams run by his an
| tagoniSts tuskS. Blood could be seen
| trickling down his head and shoulders.
| On the rise of the hill was the rival, a
still larger animal, possessing the adj
vantage of longer, cleaning tusks. 1t
was a lost fight, and in a few minutes
| the victor, with a quick rush at the
other. made a good thrust at the side,
and though there was severe struggle
the tusk went it's full length into the
now beaten brute, and using all his
weight the victor pressed him down the
hill, where they disengaged themselves
and prepared for another bout
The wounded tusker's roars of pain
and rage were pitiful to hear, and,
though he would have escaped if he
could, the other kept close behind and
| administered thrust after thrust, but
not in any vital part. Presently wheel
ing round they raced and came together
with mighty smash. This was about
the only stand made. and was quickly
overpowered by the more powerful and
fresher victor. The thrusts made now
put behind the shoulder and into the
body quickly disabled the poor brute,
and in fact in a few minutes the com
bat was finally over. the conquerol
with one rush completely rolling his
enemy over, and, by repeated thrusts
ints into the PROSTATE form, finishing
the fight amid meanings and trumpet
ings
Next morning, on our proceeding tt
look for the tuskers, we found {
large herd in an excited state, almos
on the spot where the finish had oc
Cured. In it were several good tusk
ers, besides the big conqueror of the
evening before, who seemed to inStil1
great deal of fear into the youngsters
He came now into the open glade will
a fine young female, and as he ap
preached even the other cows there wa
; a general stampede out of his way.
|, We came on the dead beast, which
had been butted and rolled, after it wa
killed, into clump of bamboos.
had been fine, burly animal, but wa
marked from forehead to rear and to-
, to foot by rips and cuts. He measure;
. nine feet six inches at the shoulder
, and the tusks, which were taken by tn
hill men, proved slightly over one hun
dred pounds the pair. The victor
which in the fight appeared to towe
, over his foe, must have been quite tel
feet high and had the longest tusks
have ever seen clear of their sockets
harem about him, and the difficulty O
, getting clear view in the long grass,
, failed to get shot Mes