The Jennings daily record., 1902-12-31

self that have, in my time. seen con.
siderable of them. In fact, 1t seemed
as If all the elephants in Africa were
and were bent on my destruction.
With trumpetings which were dear
ening, they came rushing toward US
from every point of the COMPASS.
Flight was impossible, for we were
entirely surrounded, nor was there a
distance of even ten feet between the
foremost ones. and as the leaders IN
this magnificent charge neared US. OF
course even this space was narrowed.
Il felt that my time had come. for.
| unfortunately Umbolalla, in his haste
the wounded elephant, had dropped
| the ammunition, and we were with
out arms other than my two army re-
volvers and Umbolalla's assegai.
weapon without which no native Afri-
i can can be induced to enter forest
The bullets from the revolvers would
have proven as effective against the
| tough hides of the elephants as from
q boys sling-shot. and l did not,
therefore, deem it worth an attempt
| to use them, nor did it then occur to
me. as l remember 1t now. that had
them with me.
"Then it was that most remark
able thing occurred. You know what
will happen If you place a number OF
moving bodies at an equal distance
from each other, upon the circumfer'
ence of a circle and start them to-
ward the center? Well, that is just
what happened in this case! Those
elephants in the lead reached the cir
cumference of the smaller circle al
precisely the same instant, and there
they stuck, utterly unable to approach
an inch nearer!
mot only had the terrific momen
tum of their huge bodies served tt
wedge them tightly together. but be
hind the elephants comprising thu
inner circle were scores and score:
of others, each possessed by an un
controllable desire to get at the some
thing which formed the center of thu
circle of which they were the cir
cumference, and serving to hold fas
in their positions the elephants on tn
inner circle.
Conceive. If you can. the pictur
of two men seated upon the carcas
of q dead elephant. surrounded by
living circle of other elephants. an
these in turn pushed and crowded an
wedged in still more tightly by hur
dreds of others! The elephants O
the inner circle might as we'll hav
been trees, SO far as their powers G
locomotion were concerned. With a
most over-powering trumpetings. the
swayed from side to side. lashin
each other with their trunks in thei
rage, but absolutely unable to sti
either forward or backward. A
though had. but few moments b
fore, resigned myself to speedy an
apparently inevitable death. the h,
NOR of the situation now struck m
and l rolled from the carcass in
violent paroxysm of laughter.
"To make long story short. 1t we
simple matter. considering the p
sition in which we had the herd.
finish a few of the elephants neare
US by well.directed shots from my r
volvers, as a bullet penetrating II
9 eye would readily reach the brain. "
9 had killed perhaps half dozen
e this manner, the bodies retainil
Q their upright position in the circ
J. through the pressure Of others. wh'
d Umbolalla reminded me that the
J. manning revolver cartridges mig
c better be saved. and that we cou
!. kill the eleph ants as well with b
assexai. His plan was to climb ups