Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1905-02-02

light saw the head of the most mon |
strous elephant 1 ever met with peer
ing out with wicked eyes from thick
ct of canes.
81 am obliged to admit that gave |
a start. The beast looked dangerous.
1t was regarding me fixedly and fierce
ly, and snorting in subdued, but de- |
cidedly unpleasant, way. I,started, l |
say; but l assure you / absolutely
lurch, the elephant stepped out of
the covert and advanced toward me,
trumpeting with fury.
''Why did Jump back? I will tell
you. The elephant had two heads"
What" exclaimed several voices.
1.-TWO heads" said the Major, slowly
and emphatically 1.-Two pairs of shoul-
ders and two sets of forefeet Gust be.
hind the shoulders the body became
normal and the hindquarters were sim
ply those of huge elephant some ff. !
teen feet high. You hear of such things
every day among smaller animals, and
even in our own species it occurs from
time to time. But I've never known
another case Of this freak of nature
being accompanied by complete, and
even normal, development of all parts
of the composite animal
However, I hadn't time to think of
that even. Lifting its trunks with two
deafening bellows, the awful creature
charged me. l had scarcely time to
draw my revolver before it was upon
me. 1 fired rather wildly, I'm afraid,
and evidently did no damage The
next instant l was seized by one of the
trunks and whirled high in the air.
Il expected to be- dashed in pieces
that instant. But no; had not allow
ed for the development of self-restraint
and curiosity in two brains, both nat
urally of the first order of animal in
telligence, and both sharpened by con-
stant association with one another l
was not hurled to the ground. I was
held aloft by one trunk, while the
other took the revolver from my hand
and brought it up to the corresponding
pair of eyes for examination. Then I
was set quietly down, and a huge foot
was placed upon me, quite gently,
while the revolver was passed from
trunk to trunk and closely scrutinized,
both the heads keeping up meanwhile
a series OF significant grunts which
have no doubt at all personally were
Of the nature OF language. The one
trunk-the left one, I remembe-took
the weapon, adjusted it clumsily be-
| tween the thumb and hand, as l may
call them, and discharged it. The great
beast started convulsively, but did not
| drop the revolver; and then the other
trunk eagerly stretched out to take it.,
| and managed to fire it off in it's turn.
This took some time to happen.
dare say each trunk was fiddling with
the revolver for ten minutes before it
managed to fire it. All that time l
lay on my back, with a huge foot
planted on my abdomen, watching
what occurred. did not feel frightell-
ed; but was very uncomfortable. My
| captor continued to play with the re-
volver. It was like a child with a new
toy. Two more shots were discharged; j;
and then began strange scene.
"A furious alteration broke out be-
tween the two heads, evidently with
regard to the last shot left in the six
shooter-you remember I fired one
myself. The right trunk had the wea
pom; and the left strove to tear il
away. Deafening blasts of trumpeting
filled the air. Tusks CLASSIFIED violent
ly as the maddened creature struggled
with itself. was forgotten. The i'm
prisoning foot was lifted, and as
rolled behind a rock the earth shool
to the tranipling of the six great feet
1.-THE end was not long in coming
After few minutes Of struggling, il
the course of which some fearful
wounds were inflicted by each pair o
tusks, saw the writhing trunks
twined together fly upward and back
ward. At the same instant a shot ran,
out, and next moment, with two ire
mendous bellows, the frightful creatur
, toppled forward to it's four knees, an
, Immediately rolled over on its lef
side.
1T was perfectly dead. My revolver
still smoking, was clutched convulsive
: 1y in the right trunk. 1t had gone o.
1 in the struggle, SO close to the beast
f back as to SINCE the skin, and had sha
: tered the spinal cord just behind tn