The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1909-04-01

is about fifteen miles an hour, the
maximum length of their stride being
from six and half to seven feet.
Stalking one Or two particular ami
mails from a herd Uhe herds in Ugan-
da number from ten to fifty membersy
is Il task requiring cJnsummate hunt
ing skill The herds travel with the
females in front and The bulls in the
rear, and herds are usually attack
ed from either the side or the
rear. Solitary bulls called rogue
elephants, generally wildly vicious
even before attacked. also present in
teresting problems The natives have
developed great aptitude in following
and interpreting The footprints (spoOrI
Of the quarry. whether lions ele-
plants. antelupes or other game. If it
is old the cdges have crumbled and
they are filled. or partly so, with drift
sand and bits of leaves Wounded eIe-
plants are also tracked by the blood
stains on the elephant grass through
which they pass. and by the height of
the stains en- tie grass it can be esti-
mated bow dan. erous The wound is.
In "On Safari'' Abel chapman tells
Of an attack 10y a bull elephant that
almost cost him his life. He says:
Archer and | aplroac he'd to within
thirty yards Of the animal near the
shore Of Lake Bariugo, British East
Africa and hoped to get Il good shot
without detection beforehand. Sudden
ly the wind shifted, ard the elephant
caught our scent. InSt1utaneOuSly he
was all alert Suddenly ne disappeared
in the jungle brake, and while trying
/" spy him a heavy crashing heard di-
rertIy before US told us he was com
ing. At once a big square forehead
appeared directly above us in the tall
grass Uen or twelve feet high only
few yards away, resembling the hOary
gray tower of some old village church
II placed 3O3 bullet In his temple
at the point described by experts, half
way between the eye and the Oriice of
the ear though his ear was as big as
a barn door. Archer, in front, tried
the effective forehead shot, aiming at
the base of the trunk The beast
swerved from sight under these blows,
but quickly reappeared again just as
had reloaded He crashed at us vi
ciously from our right. and we each
put bullets into his head from the SIDE
his ear almost touching our rife muz-
Zles, Archer hitting him with a 40
and | with two more 1868, following
with two lead slugs from a 40 black
powder rifle. But these total seven
shots in vital parts had no apparent
effect, and the beast headed into a
heavy thorn jungle. We followed but
for miles he Outsped us, and we re-
luctantly gave up the chase, maryeling
that any animal could live, much less
travel, SO far and so fast with seven
ordinarily deadly bullets in his skull.
Our natives continued the pursuit
twenty miles and gave up. Later the
beast was found dead a point about
forty miles distant, his great tusks,
weighing ninety pounds apiece. having
been taken by native ivory trader.
This elephant was estimated to
weigh almost 1900 pounds. the great
est weight known being $4,000 pounds,
and this latter animal stood practical
ly twelve feet high. the record height
for the modern pachyderm."
The elephant carcass is choice
prize for the natives They climb
upon its side and cut large hole
straight down into the interior, just
as mining shaft is sunk. and the ma
tives climb down out of sight in the
shaft to hunt about for choice NOR
sels. A coating of elephant fat and
blood Is a popular substitute for cloth
ing among certain Uganda savages,
who believe that no people should
wear clothes until after marriage.
Elephant hunters in Uganda find ant
hills a valuable aid as observatories.
These hills tower TO a considerable
height, and many of them can be
easily climbed. Others rise sharply
like smokestacks, and, being hollow,
holes are frequently dug in their sides
and fires built for cooking \ perfect
draft is produced by the hollow in
terror and the smoke is carried off at
the top. So numerous are these hills
that they are distinctive. typical.
feature Of the country. Cases are
known whe"e hunters have saved their
lives from charging elephants by dodg-
ing behind convenient ant hills.
The charge Of an aroused elephant
herd IS, by the way, sight never to
be forgotten il the object Of it escapes
with his life. A writer I'm the Geo
graphical Magazine describes such an
assault by African elephants near Lake
Rudolph, rs follows:
I'VE entered patch Of dense Afri-
can jungle. Huge prickly aIoeS, enOr-
nous cactuses with long sharp points
and tall fealhery plant like privet
made up a safe asylum from ordinary
mortals Very few minutes sufficed to
turn hunters into hunted. No l,
COW charged down on us. Jumping
aside, killed her as she rushed on my
gun carrier not four feet from him.
Hardly had we struck the spOor of an
other lot when young bull suddenly
bore down on me. However. a lucky
forehead shot laid him low. While
skinning ouc Of these heads the whole
place seemed alive with elephants
smashing toward us. Selling my rifle
l ran ahead. Suddenly line Of over
forty eIephantS broke cover ahOut