The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-07-11

ostancc of ever sycftakihr thom seemed to grow
smaller. we had twice. o9-saddled THO horsc.
and were thinking OF doing 20 for' the third
n riTsn plnso too 20 a ternperstSrc which, ccaimina9
Ing when tho sun was at It's zenith, seemed OF
length about TO become more bearsble, as tho
And yet the elephants seemed further away
from us than ever: suddonly old Marmen
spoor we wore following at risht angles. After
q quick, eager examination he said IN the Nata-
SGJS '"Pn SyS So,or rFaei thc sa%il Mna S fSen ,o ,s", a:
that the animals we were following wcro not lar
in front OF us, ms they had rccrosscd their own
shortly after this We camc up with tho ami.
mails themselves IN some, very thick brush, and
tusker, with tusks weighing slightly over forty
pounds each, while the tusks OF tho smaller bull
a MSs pos weigh we ho SniI' .}t foE bGGI RS%pp s,s the nSI P9itS; G Ghp
dark, and that night, after a forty Cishii, hours
heart and trunk. The next day we chopped out
the tusks and reached our camp OH the Unfull
on on, tho evening ven .Soo Of The fourth day : after Spv we oh had
taken these elephants had they not made n turn
and rccrosscd their own spoor, unfortunately
They had travelled. just rs far during the last
day and night as tlcy. had done in the course of
the previous twenty.four hours, and Judging
from my, own experience on tho. foregoing and
many other occasions, l am OF opinion that
,Ess tr SlSehe aon,in nnGH s SSrIn Rq iSs M psoiiso gesr
at the rate Of from twenty to fifty miles every
twenty.four hours.
animnl with which l am acquainted, never, or
at any rate, very rarely. lies down to rest, al
tho side of an ant heap. make this statement
adyiscdlI, ., a. ! hc ~ s seen ialtoEEo get Ct, y thou hsSr
preston on the ground where one has been re-
posing. At night elephants travel and feed,
day, during which time they stand In the shade
of largo trees. or in the recesses of tho wait-a-bit
thorn jungles for which they have such a strong
prediction.
Elephant hunting as q business has now be
come u thing OF tho past In South Africa, for the
s ss"rs i i 70 '9 .S"s and " "a, however, sns ssrai although oa fnf I
had to do an immense amount OF hard work, l
elephant hunting. u the country to the north
and northwest OF Matabeleiand. During that
I PSs'SS l Of hHn aS S%taie!YoS Sa fSot ir nsiDF s ,hs ' Sns
cheap powder that, was sold to the natives in
, M"s ssyan,9 eSEsbi My hang for but thf I t thpsS ySSS s's
thinking that had I then possessed n good
bTcech.ioadins rifle I might have killed at least
Like every ono else who has shot many Gle.
plants on foot, have had some narrow escapes,
and have owed my life many times to the fast
be stopped In fun charge by n shot In any part
e tho lead or chest, even though the wound in.
elephant charges IL raises its head and spreads
Its enormous ears like two sails. When It first
n nir. tTu 1np Il St'f loudly daysG the e.s w 1RHet f Bst such sn InS a
demonstration Is, 1 think, usually only meant to
frishtcn its enemies, and it is not likely to come
a around %i'n and is re! !p&nR G tRe herd. 0H Bmt when sSrn' nS
elephant really means to charge home, it comes
down between its tusks and tho point curlcd in
toward its chest, keeping up, a succession Of
a sesTs; sh 5Scp sSFs fry 20 & XIII Frf & % %ll the C . thns in It tbs is
head is held makes it It impossible FOR a bullet
ing, who is standing perhaps somc twenty yards
In front of 1t, to reach its brain (which lies low
nossinr through some two feet OF trunk and N
great deal OF bone.
Tho best shot under such circumstances is
right through tho trunk into the chest, az q
powerful or smooth bore gun will drive n bullet
right through an elephants trunk and then
reach the heart. have killed several in this
way and have hit many others in the head,
trunk, or chest on tho side Of the trunk when
e eTeyy % one' as sh soon as it 0W was w .trhSP' iS SnSsRit,Sn
ly stopped screaming, and swerved off TO one
side; Once | remember was CHARGED by, an
456-bore Metford rifle by Gibbs of Bristol. As
the elephant came On ! wondered whether the
was screaming loudly, but Immediately tho
little bullet struck 1t in tho chest the elephant
sWervGd off and became silent, and l killed
Elephant hunting on horseback : is very much
pleasanter. and infinitely less fntiguinE, than
~ trained horse and fairly open country to
hunt in. there ought not to be much danger in
the sport. But one cannot always have things
ores own way, and. as n raatter of fact, when
You do come up with the elephants your horse
will be encountered very probably in the dense,
thorny jungle, through which a charging elc-
plant can crash in an almost straight line.
while n horse has to pick its way among the
trees and bushes. Under such circumstances
a horse which. in open ground and when fairly
fresh. could give an elephant forty yards ont
o, 100 and then beat him, may very easily be
caught by its bulky pursuer.. and many cascs
have come within my own knowledge where
horses and their riders have been ovcrtakra
by elephants, sometimes with fatal results.
! myself once had a marvellous escape, as my
tired horse was run into and thrown down By
u wounded cow elephant, from under whose
Iody eStricatcd myself, unhurt indeed. but
covered with blood that was streaming from
a wound in the elephants chest.
F. {. SELoUs.