The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1909-04-23

shore of Lake Baringo. British East
Africa and hoped to get a good shoi
without detection beforehand. Sudden
ly the wind shifted, and the elephant
caught our scent. InstantaneOusly he
was all alert. Suddenly he disappeared
in the jungle brake, and while trying
to spy him a heavy crashing heard di-
rectly before us told us he was com
ing. At once a big square forehead
appeared directly above us in the tall
grass (ten or twelve feet high only q
few yards away, resembling the hoary
gray tower of some old village church
81 placed a 303 bullet in his temple
at the point described by experts, half
way between the eye and the ortfice 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 DO
and l with two more 905, following
with two lead slugs from a 45 black
powder rife. 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, marveling
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 at 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 a choice
prize for the natives. They climb
upon its side and cut a large hole
straight down into the interior, just
as a mining shaft is sunk, and the ma
tives climb down out of sight in the
shaft to hunt about for choice NOR
sells. A coating of elephant fat and
blood is 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 n 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. A 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 a distinctive, a typical, |
feature of the country Cases are
known where 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, a sight never TO
be forgotten If the object of it escapes
with his life. A writer in the Geo.
graphical Magazine describes such an
assault by African elephants near Lake
Rudolph, as follows:
1--WE entered a patch of dense Afri-
,an Jungle Huge priclSly aloes, enor-
aslaa 70
Ind a tall feathery plant like privet
made up a safe asylum from ordinary
nortals Very few minutes sufIiced to
urn hunters into hunted No. 1, a
ow, charged down on us. Jumping
Iside, killed her as she rushed on my
run carrier not four feet from him.
Hardly had we struck the spoor of an
ther lot when a young bull suddenly
,ore down on me. However, a lucky
orehead shot laid him low. While
kinning one Of these heads the whole
lace seemed alive with elephants
mashing toward us. Selling my rife,
ran ahead. Suddenly line Of over
orty elephants broke cover, about
twenty-five I'm the first line jammed
oEtAhti ilht u NdNdlig regiment ClAli X ]
ng Being only twenty yards from
ne when they appeared, with the cen
er bearing directly down on one,
wn to feeling they had the best of
ne. saw my only chance was killing
he flank one. In a second I dropped
he left hand one which, falling in
yardly, inclined the whole troop a lit
lie to the right Within ten yards 1
red my remaining barrel dropping
mother. causing still further detection
o the right. Another second the flank ,
ne on the left rushed past, almost .
hooking me down.
81 felt thankful for such a lucky ,
scape and blessed my new $50 cordite
lie, which had done such good work"
d,