Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-10-18
HUNT IN SWAZILAND.
How a Gallant Sportsman Lost His
Clothes, But Saved His Life.

How a Gallant Sportsman Lost His
Clothes, But Saved His Life.
Captain Medlicott of the Royal Irish
Rifles and Mr.. Ballard, late Of Lums-
den's Horse, accompanied by several
natives, set out from Embabane for the
elephant bush to the east OF Mapung-
wana's. They succeeded In getting
right into the middle Of a troop and
fired, upon which the elephants made
OFF. with trees swapping and bushes
cracking. The hunters followed, led by
Umhlope, the tracker, and at last con-
fronted a huge elephant.
The tusker trumpeted charge and the
rifles rang out-there was only his big
chest to aim at, for he raised aloft his
trunk.-he came full speed across the
clearing, a red mouthed, glaring, tusk-
ed, screaming, active mammoth. Mr.
Ballard made rapid flank movement
to the right; his objective was the
thorn tree. he and the elephant ar
rived there together. Down came the
tree In front Of the elephant. Ballards
gun was flung in the middle OF the
clearing, and boughs and thorns pinned
the hunter to the ground. The ele-
phant swerved like a skater doing the
outside edge. Umhlope. the tracker did
not wait. With yell to Captain
Medhcott Of Run, boss!" he made a
leap Cor the fig tree which his trained
eye had located as the best harbor OF
refuge. Then the elephant charged
Captain Medlicott, who saw three feet
in front Of him a hole in the ground.
He didn't wait to investigate but
with the agility Of a hunted rabbit, and
the thunder of the elephantine charge
in his esrs, he dived feet first down the
aperture. His gun, which he held aloft,
crossed the hole, and remained outside,
almost dislocating his arm with
jerk. For a moment he was so dazed
that he didn't know where he was, but
a few seconds sufficed to reassure him.
He had landed in one OF the old mealie
pits Of a disused kraal, those circular
excavations Of about five feet high and
eight feet in diameter in which natives
empty their grain through the little
hole, sufficient for an adult to pass
through, that connects with the sur
face.
Thinking Of Mr.. Ballard, the Cap
tain crept quietly UP to the hole and
listened. No! no sound-he raised HIM
self cautiously and pushed his head
through the orifice. The sight that met
his eyes froze his blood. The elephant
stood right over him, both wicked
eyes on the watch, and as he ducked
his head a long, nervous. sinuous trunk
followed him into the pit-a horrible
death to be dragged from the hole
like trout from stream and crush
ed TO pulp under the huge pedal ex-
trenities Of the mammoth! He began
lodging the trunk-under 1t, past it,
behind it, round the edge Of the pit,
into the center, now crushed against
the walls, and missing 1t by hair.
round and round, until it almost SEEM
ed best to put an end to all by one
final, desperate, savage onslaught on
the thing that pursued him.
Umhlope watched strange scene.
The elephant, with a scream Of tri-
umph, withdrew his trunk, and waved
aloft a remnant Of human clothing-a
khaki coat. The Captain had lost his
coat. Casting it on the ground, the
huge animal danced with rage on this
outer shell of the human form, and,
having pounded 1t into the now dusty
earth, he resumed his search. The
next event. after prolonged under
ground search, was the abstraction OF
a shirt, which his lordship tore into
shreds and cast to the four winds Of
heaven. This was soon followed by
pair Of trousers. and these, after being
flies off his aristocratic back and loins,
We're ripped to pieces and followed In
the wakes Of the shirt; and the hunt
was resumed.
Next time 1t will be the Katiteni him
self, thought Uhmlope, when at that
moment he heard a groan, and looking
to his right he saw slight move
ment in the fallen thorn tree branch
es. So the other mulungu was not
dead after all, but only stunned. He
must get help, otherwise, should one
Of them survive, he would have to ac-
count for his inaction. He did not
hesitate, but slid quietly down that
part Of the stem out Of sight Of the
lord in possession, crept silently into
the jungle, and made all haste to the
nearest kraal.
When he got back with help. Mr..
Ballard was rescued from the bush,
where he lay seriously injured, and the
next move was toward the mealie pit.
Calls to Come OUT brought no re-
sponse. Then two adventurous war
riors descended, and soon human
shape, with nothing European about
1t but the boots, was passed to the sur
face. Caked from head to ankles with
red clay and concealed with perspira-
ton, who would have identified in the
inert form the agile figure that three
hours previously, like Mephistopheles
and his trapdoor, had descended to the
depths below.
AS the two Europeans were ho1sted
on to quickly improvised stretchers Of
waffle, the one exhausted after three
hours scrimmage with an elephants
trunk in a chamber eight by five, and
the other not quite sure which bone in
his body was the most completely
smashed up, Malekelala, the induna,
turned to his people and said: Sure
ly 1t must have been the witch Um-
kweki, who played the trick on the
chiefs-was it not in this old garden
that he caught Malta and mashed him
into red meat only a year ago? This
Is his favorite waiting place. But one
day we will catch him and then 1t will
be fitting that we cut off his nose and
hand 1t to the chief with the red skin,
that he may eat Of that which has
tickled him this morning.
Times.
DON'T HAVE TYPHoID-The cold wet
spring, the summer so late in coming,
haor,o with ax-