d. The shot so
stunned him that, instead of going on straight, he kept turning round
and round as though running after his tail; this threw the herd into
confusion, and some ran to the right and others to the left, across some
steep hollows. Running up to my wounded elephant, I extinguished him
with my remaining barrel; and getting a spare rifle from Wallace, who
was the only gun-bearer who had kept up, I floored another elephant, who
was ascending the opposite side of a hollow about forty yards off: this
fellow took two shots, and accordingly I was left unloaded. V. had made
good play with the rifles as the herd was crossing the hollow, and he
had killed three, making six bagged in all. The remaining two elephants
reached a thick jungle and escaped.

We returned to the tent, and after a bath we sat down with a glorious
appetite to breakfast, having bagged six elephants before seven o'clock
A.M.

In the afternoon we went to the cave and sent out trackers. We were
very hard up for provisions in this place: there were no deer in the
neighbourhood, and we lived upon squirrels and parrots, both of which
are excellent eating, but not very substantial fare.

The whole of this part of the country was one dark mass of high lemon
grass, which, not having been burnt, was a tangled mixture of yellow
stalks and sharp blades, that completely destroyed the pleasure of
shooting.

In this unfavourable ground we found a herd of ten elephants, and
after waiting for some time in the hope of their feeding into a better
country, we lost all patience and resolved to go in at them and do the
best we could. It was late in the afternoon, and the herd, who were well
aware of our position, had all closed up in a dense body, and with
their trunks thrown up they were trumpeting and screaming as though to
challenge us to the attack.

Pushing our way through the high grass, we got within six paces of the
elephants before they attempted to turn, and the heavy battery opened
upon them in fine style. Levelling the grass in their path, they rushed
through it in a headlong retreat, V. keeping on one flank, while I took
the other; and a race commenced, which continued for about half a mile
at full speed, the greater part of this distance being up hill. None of
these elephants proved restive; and on arriving at thick jungle two only
entered out of the ten that had composed the herd; the remaining eight
lay here and there along the line of the hunt.