seum I cut straight to the elephant-stables and thoroughly
examined the head of the living animal, comparing it in my own mind
with the skull, until I was thoroughly certain of the position of the
brain and the possibility of reaching it from any position.

An African sportsmen would be a long time in killing a Ceylon elephant,
if he fired at the long range described by most writers; in fact, he
would not kill one out of twenty that he fired at in such a
jungle-covered country as Ceylon, where, in most cases, everything
depends upon the success of the first barrel.

It is the fashion in Ceylon to get as close as possible to an elephant
before firing; this is usually at about ten yards' distance, at which
range nearly every shot must be fatal. In Africa, according to all
accounts, elephants are fired at thirty, forty, and even at sixty
yards. It is no wonder, therefore, that African sportsmen take the
shoulder shot, as the hitting of the brain would be a most difficult
feat at such a distance, seeing that the even and dusky color of an
elephant's head offers no peculiar mark for a delicate aim.

The first thing that a good sportsmen considers with every animal is
the point at which to aim so to bag him as speedily as possible. It is
well known that all animals, from the smallest to the largest, sink
into instant death when shot through the brain; and that a wound
through the lungs or heart is equally fatal, though not so
instantaneous. These are accordingly the points for aim, the brain,
from its small size, being the most difficult to hit. Nevertheless, in
a jungle country, elephants must be shot through the brain, otherwise
they would not be bagged, as they would retreat with a mortal wound
into such dense jungle that no man could follow. Seeing how easily they
are dropped by the brainshot if approached sufficiently near to ensure
the correctness of the aim, no one would ever think of firing at the
shoulder who had been accustomed to aim at the head.

A Ceylon sportsman arriving in Africa would naturally examine the skull
of the African elephant, and when once certain of the position of the
brain he would require no further information. Leave him alone for
hitting it if he knew where it was.

What a sight for a Ceylon elephant-hunter would be the first view of a
herd of African elephants--all tuskers! In Ceylon, a "tusker" is a
kind of spectre, to be talked of by a few who have had the good luck to
see one. A