The Rifle And The Hound In Ceylon(Fiscle Part-3), Sir Samuel White Baker [most inspirational books .txt] 📗

Now Came Up And Cut Off The Tails Of Those That I Had Killed. I

Had One Barrel Still Loaded,  And I Was Pushing My Way Through The

Tangled Grass Towards The Spot Where The Five Elephants Lay Together,

When I Suddenly Heard Wallace Shriek Out,  'Look Out,  Sir! Look Out!--An

Elephant's Coming!'

 

I Turned Round In A Moment; And Close Past Wallace,  From The Very Spot

Where The Last Dead Elephant Lay,  Came The Very Essence And Incarnation

Of A 'Rogue' Elephant In Full Charge. His Trunk Was Thrown High In The

Air,  His Ears Were Cocked,  His Tail Stood Erect Above His Back As Stiff

As A Poker,  And Screaming Exactly Like The Whistle Of A Railway Engine,

He Rushed Upon Me Through The High Grass With A Velocity That Was

Perfectly Wonderful. His Eyes Flashed As He Came On,  And He Had Singled

Me Out As His Victim.

 

I Have Often Been In Dangerous Positions,  But I Never Felt So Totally

Devoid Of Hope As I Did In This Instance. The Tangled Grass Rendered

Retreat Impossible. I Had Only One Barrel Loaded,  And That Was Useless,

As The Upraised Trunk Protected His Forehead. I Felt Myself Doomed; The

Few Thoughts That Rush Through Men's Minds In Such Hopeless Positions,

Flew Through Mine,  And I Resolved To Wait For Him Till He Was Close Upon

Me,  Before I Fired,  Hoping That He Might Lower His Trunk And Expose His

Forehead.

 

He Rushed Along At The Pace Of A Horse In Full Speed; In A Few Moments,

As The Grass Flew To The Right And Left Before Him,  He Was Close Upon

Me,  But Still His Trunk Was Raised And I Would Not Fire. One Second

More,  And At This Headlong Pace He Was Within Three Feet Of Me; Down

Slashed His Trunk With The Rapidity Of A Whip-Thong! And With A Shrill

Scream Of Fury He Was Upon Me!

 

I Fired At That Instant; But In A Twinkling Of An Eye I Was Flying

Through The Air Like A Ball From A Bat. At The Moment Of Firing. I Had

Jumped To The Left,  But He Struck Me With His Tusk In Full Charge Upon

My Right Thigh,  And Hurled Me Eight Or Ten Paces From Him. That Very

Moment He Stopped,  And,  Turning Round,  He Beat The Grass About With His

Trunk,  And Commenced A Strict Search For Me. I Heard Him Advancing Close

To The Spot Where I Lay As Still As Death,  Knowing That My Last Chance

Lay In Concealment. I Heard The Grass Rustling Close To Me; Closer And

Closer He Approached,  And He At Length Beat The Grass With His Trunk

Several Times Exactly Above Me. I Held My Breath,  Momentarily Expecting

To Feel His Ponderous Foot Upon Me. Although I Had Not Felt The

Sensation Of Fear While I Had Stood Opposed To Him,  I Felt Like What I

Never Wish To Feel Again While He Was Deliberately Hunting Me Up.

Fortunately I Had Reserved My Fire Until The Rifle Had Almost Touched

Him,  For The Powder And Smoke Had Nearly Blinded Him,  And Had Spoiled

His Acute Power Of Scent. To My Joy I Heard The Rustling Of The Grass

Grow Fainter; Again I Heard It At A Still Greater Distance; At Length It

Was Gone!

 

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At That Time I Thought That Half My Bones Were Broken,  As I Was Numbed

From Head To Foot By The Force Of The Blow. His Charge Can Only Be

Compared To A Blow From A Railway Engine Going At Twenty Miles An Hour.

 

Not Expecting To Be Able To Move,  I Crept To My Hands And Knees. To My

Delight There Were No Bones Broken,  And With A Feeling Of Thankfulness I

Stood Erect. I With Difficulty Reached A Stream Of Water Near The Spot,

In Which I Bathed My Leg,  But In A Few Minutes It Swelled To The Size Of

A Man's Waist. In This Spot Everyone Had Congregated,  And Were Loading

Their Guns,  But The Rogue Had Escaped.

 

My Cap And Rifle Were Now Hunted For,  And They Were At Length Found Near

The Spot Where I Had Been Caught. The Elephant Had Trodden On The Stock

Of The Rifle,  And It Bears The Marks Of His Foot To This Day.

 

In A Few Minutes I Was Unable To Move. We Therefore Sent To The Tent For

The Horses,  And Arrived At 6 P.M.,  Having Had A Hard Day's Work From 5

A.M. Without Food.

 

On Arrival At The Tent We Found Banda And The Trackers.

 

There Could Not Be A Better Exemplification Of A Rogue Than In This

Case. A Short Distance Apart From The Herd,  He Had Concealed Himself In

The Jungle,  From Which Position He Had Witnessed The Destruction Of His

Mates. He Had Not Stirred A Foot Until He Saw Us Totally Unprepared,

When He Instantly Seized The Opportunity And Dashed Out Upon Me. If I

Had Attempted To Run From Him,  I Should Have Been Killed,  As He Would

Have Struck Me In The Back; My Only Chance Was In The Course Which I

Pursued--To Wait Quietly Until He Was Just Over Me,  And Then To Jump On

One Side; He Thus Struck Me On The Thickest Part Of The Thigh Instead Of

Striking Me In The Stomach,  Which He Must Have Done Had I Remained In My

First Position; This Would Have Killed Me On The Spot.

 

I Passed An Uncomfortable Night,  My Leg Being Very Painful And Covered

With Wet Bandages Of Vinegar And Water. The Bruise Came Out From My

Ankle To My Hip; The Skin Was Broken Where The Tush Had Struck Me,  And

The Blood Had Started Under The Skin Over A Surface Of Nearly A Foot,

Making The Bruise A Bright Purple,  And Giving The Whole Affair A Most

Unpleasant Appearance. The Next Morning I Could Not Move My Leg,  Which

Felt Like A Sack Of Sand,  And Was Perfectly Numbed; However,  I Kept On A

Succession Of Cold Lotions,  And After Breakfast I Was Assisted Upon My

Horse,  And We Moved The Encampment To Nielgalla. On The Following Day I

Could Just Manage To Hobble Along,  My Leg Being At Least Double Its

Usual Size,  And Threatening To Spoil My Sport For The Whole Trip.

 

We Were Seated At Breakfast When A Native Came In,  Bringing Intelligence

Of A Herd Of Elephants About Four Miles Distant. I Was Not In A State

For Shooting,  But I Resolved To Mount My Steady Old Horse Jack,  And Take

My Chance Of Revenge For My Mishap. The Guns Were Accordingly Loaded,

And We Started.

 

We Had Ridden Through The Park For About Three Miles,  And Had Just

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Turned Round The Corner Of A Patch Of Jungle,  When We Came Suddenly Upon

A Large Rogue Elephant,  Who Was Standing In The Open,  Facing Us At About

Seventy Yards. The Moment That He Saw The Horses He Turned Sharp Round,

And Retreated To A Long Belt Of Fine Open Forest Which Was Close Behind

Him. There Was No Resisting The Invitation Upon Such Favourable Ground,

And Immediately Dismounting,  We Followed Him. I Now Found That My Leg

Was Nearly Useless,  And I Could Only Move At A Snail's Pace,  And Even

Then With Great Pain. Upon Reaching The Forest,  We Found That The Rogue

Had Decamped,  Not Wishing To Meet Us In Such Advantageous Ground. We

Followed His Tracks For A Few Hundred Yards Through The Wood,  Till We

Suddenly Emerged Upon A Large Tract Of High Lemon Grass. Into This,  Our

Cunning Foe Had Retreated,  And With My Decreased Powers Of Locomotion,  I

Did Not Wish To Pursue Him Farther. I Was At Length Persuaded By Banda

To Make A Trial,  And We Accordingly Left The Track,  And Pushed Our Way

Through The High Grass To Some Rising Ground,  From Which We Could Look

Over The Surface Of Waving Vegetation,  And Find Out The Exact Position

Of The Elephant. While Forcing Our Way Through The Dense Mass,  I

Momentarily Expected To Hear The Rush Of The Rogue Charging Down Upon

Us,  And I Was Glad To Find Myself At Length Safe In The Position We Had

Steered For.

 

Upon Scanning The Surface Of The Grass,  I Distinguished The Elephant

Immediately; He Was Standing Close To The Edge Of The Jungle In The High

Grass Facing Us,  At About 150 Yards Distant. He Was A Picture Of Intense

Excitement And Attention,  And Was Evidently Waiting For Us. In The

Position That We Now Occupied,  We Unavoidably Gave Him The Wind,  And He

Of Course Almost Immediately Discovered Us. Giving Two Or Three Shrill

Trumpets,  He Paced Quickly To And Fro Before The Jungle,  As Though He

Were Guarding The Entrance. To Enter The High Grass To Attack Him,  Would

Have Been Folly,  As He Was Fully Prepared,  And When Once In The Tangled

Mass We Could Not Have Seen Him Until He Was Upon Us; We Therefore

Amused Ourselves For About Ten Minutes By Shouting At Him. During This

Time He Continued Pacing Backwards And Forwards,  Screaming Almost

Without Intermission; And Having Suddenly Made Up His Mind To Stand This

Bullying No Longer,  He Threw His Trunk Up In The Air And Charged

Straight At Us. The Dust Flew Like Smoke From The Dry Grass As He Rushed

Through It; But We Were Well Prepared To Receive Him. Not Wishing Him To

Come To Close Quarters With My Useless Leg,  I Gave Him A Shot With My

Two-Ounce Rifle,  At About 120 Paces. It Did Not Even Check Him,  But It

Had The Effect Of Making Him Lower His Trunk,  And He Came On At

Undiminished Speed. Taking The Four-Ounce Rifle From Wallace,  I Heard

The Crack Of The Ball As It Entered His Head At About 100 Yards. He Was

Down! A General Shout Of Exclamation Rose From Banda And All The

Gun-Bearers. I Reloaded The Four-Ounce Immediately,  And The Ball Was

Just Rammed Home When We Heard The Supposed Dead Elephant Roaring On The

Ground. In Another Moment He Regained His Legs And Stood With His

Broadside Exposed To Us,  Stunned With The Heavy Ball In His Head. Taking

A Steady Shot At His Shoulder,  I Gave Him A Second Dose Of The Four-

Ounce; He Reeled To And Fro And Staggered Into The Jungle. I Dared Not

Follow Him In My Crippled State,  And We Returned To The Horses; But The

Next Day He Was Found Dead By The Natives.

 

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