San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-01-28
TORIES TOLD BY HUNTERS
Elephants, Buffaloes, and Still
More Savage Men.

| MORO odtaEC
"There are few more thrillin
sights,n said one Of the vetera
sportsmen at the camp fire, ethan q
elephant fight. I don't mean
fight with an elephant, though ths
may be pretty thrilling to you, ifyol
wound the brute without disabling
him. and he gets after you IN th'
open. But Imean fight between eie
phants." ..
II didn It know they ever fought
interrnnted the novice In the jungle
"You would know 1t If you evel
saw two stuskers' fairly at it" wal
The reply. "They don't often do It,
but when they do 1t is a battle to the
death. One day, up In the hill coun'
try. saw such combat. They were
hard at it when I came in sight.
They were on the hillside. One OF
them, burly, stout built beast, with
short, powerful tusks, was evidently
getting much the worst of the scrim-
mage, and the white and red fur
rows in his sides plainly indicated
seams made by his antagonists
tusks. Blood was trickling down his
head and shoulders. On the rise of
the hill was his enemy, O still larger
animal, possessing the advantage of
longer tusks. 1t was lost fight.
In q few minutes the victor, with q
quick rush at the other, made . good
thrust at the side. There was a Sc
we're struggle, but the tusk went its
full length into the now beaten brute
and using all his weight, the victor
pressed him down the hill, where
they disengaged themselves and pre-
pared for another bout. The wound
ed tusker's roars of pain were pitiful
to hear. He turned tail and sought
safety IN flight. But the other kept
close behind him and gave him
thrust after thrust, but not in any
vital part. Pretty soon they wheeled
around, raced and came together
with o mighty smash. This was
about the only stand made, and the
beaten brute was quickly over-pow-
cred by the more powerful and fresh
or victor. The thrusts now put be-
hind the shoulder and into the body
quickly disabled the poor brute, and
In fact in few minutes the combat
was over. The conqueror with one
rush completely rolled his enemy
over, and by repeated thrusts into
the PROSTATE form finished the fight
amid meanings and trumpetings.
II got some men and went out next
to look for the body and get
he tusks. We found a big herd of
elephants in an excited state almost
N the spot where the finish had oc-
,ured. In it were several small
uskers, besides the conqueror of the
'vening before, who seemed to instil
,reat deal of fear into the youngsters.
lie came out into the open glade with
! fine young female, and as he ap-
,roached there was 8 general stamp
de out of his way. We came on the
lead beast, which had been butted
md rolled after it was killed, into a
lump of bamboos. 1t had been q
inc, burly animal, but was marked
rom forehead to rear and top to foot
" rips and cuts. He measured nine
eet six inches at the shoulder, and
he tusks proved slightly over 100
'ounds the pair. The victor, which
q the fight appeared to tower over
lis foe, must have been quite ten feet
Ugh, and had the longest tusks 1
ave ever seen clear of their sock
ts. 1 tried to get him, but
With his harem about him and the
Iifficults of getting clear view in the
ong grass l failed to get a shot"
II don't know, though" said an
Id hunter, who had been in Africa,
but that / would rather take my
hances with an elephant than with
real mad buffalo. There is no more
svage brute, and none more indom-
table and persistent In his wrath.
t is not that they are swifter or
tronger or that their horns are a
more deadly weapon, but they dis
lay pertinacity of spite which
makes them exceedingly formidable.
Let lion miss his first spring and he
will turn away-unless ravenously
disappointment and
lisgust from his intended victim.
Let a rhinocerous be wounded, and,
lnless hemmed in. by foes, he will
make for the water. But the wound
I'd buffalo sticks to his enemy, and
1as been known to watch under a
rec for days in the hope of securing
his revenge upon the hunter who
lad climed it to escape his fury.
The natives have a special plan OF
heir own for capturing them. They
lsed to select the special bull they
wanted to kill and entice or drive 1t
rom its companions. Two or three
If them would engage the animals
attention in front, leaping nimb1y to
one side to avoid his furious charges,
while another hunter took the risky
Job of creeping up behind and ham,
the beast. These were gen.
orally successful, but many lives were
lost every year in buffalo hunting,
and the natives themselves consider
1t the most dangerous quadruped in
the forest"