Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1905-02-22
ITO be continued


A South African newspaper has a
thrilling account of two Englishmen
who went out to hunt elephants. They
were Captain Medlicott and a Mr.. Bal
lard. Accompanied by several natives.
they confronted huge elephant The
tusker trumpeted charge and as the
rifles rang out-there was only his big
chest to aim at, for he had raised aloft
his trunk-he came full speed across
the clearing, Il red mouthed, glaring
tusked, screaming, active mammoth.
Ballard made rapid flank movement
to the right His objective was a thorn
tree. He and the elephant arrived
there together. Down came the tree
in front of the elephant. Billiards. gun
was flung into the middle of the clear
ing, and boughs and thorns pinned the
hunter to the ground. The elephant
swerved like skater doing the outside
edge. Umhlope, the chief native hunt
er, did not wait. With yell to Cap
tain Medlicott of Run, boss he made
a frantic leap for fig tree. 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 dived feet first down
the, hole. His gun, which he had held
aloft, crossed the hole and remained
outside, almost dislocating his arm
with the jerk.
HE had landed in one Of the old
mealie pits of disused kraal, circular
excavations about FIVE feet high and
eight feet in diameter in which ma
tives empty their grain. Thinking of
Ballard, the captain crept quietly NJ
to the hole and listened There was no
sound. He raised himself cautiously
and pushed his head through the ORR
fee. The sight that met him 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, seeking to drag him
from the hole like a trout from the
stream. He began lodging the trunk
under it. pass it, behind 1t, round the
edge of the pit, into the center, now
crushed against the walls and missing
1t by hair, round and round and
round to the point Of exhaustion. Umh-
lope. the native tracker, from his
point Of vantage In the tree saw the
elephant drag forth in triumph every
article Of clothing the luckless captain
had worn. The tusker waved them in
the air and then stamped on them.
About this time the native heard a
groan from Ballard, pinioned under
the thorn tree. Perceiving that IL one
of the white men should survive he,
Umhlope, would be called to account
for his inactivity, he slid quietly down
from his tree and, unseen by the ele-
plant set off to the nearest kraal for
assistance. When help arrived some
time later, the tusker was gone. Bal.
lard 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 response. Then
two warriors descended and soon hui
man shape, with nothing European
about 1t but the boots, was passed to
the surface. The captain was caked
from head to ankle with red clay and
perspiration. The two Europeans were
hoisted on to improvised stretchers of
waffle and carried home. One was ex-
hausted after his three hours scrim-
mage and the other was not quite sure
which bone in his body was the most
completely smashed"