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

The Old Rogue

Having Got His Quietus,  We Pushed On As Fast As We Could Upon The Tracks

Through Fine Open Forest.

 

For About An Hour We Pressed On Through Forests,  Plains,  Rivers,  And

Thick Jungles Alternately,  Till At Length Upon Arriving On Some Rising

Ground,  We Heard The Trumpet Of An Elephant.

 

It Was Fine Country,  But Overgrown With Lemon Grass Ten Feet High.

Clumps Of Trees Were Scattered Here And There Among Numerous Small

Dells. Exactly Opposite Lay Several Large Masses Of Rock,  Shaded By A

Few Trees,  And On Our Left Lay A Small Hollow Of High Lemon Grass,

Bordered By Jungle.

 

In This Hollow We Counted Seven Elephants: Their Heads And Backs Were

Just Discernible Above The Grass,  As We Looked Over Them From Some

Rising Ground At About Seventy Yards Distance. Three More Elephants Were

Among The Rocks,  Browsing Upon The Long Grass.

 

We Now Heard Unmistakable Sounds Of A Large Number Of Elephants In The

Jungle Below Us,  From Which The Seven Elephants In The Hollow Had Only

Just Emerged,  And We Quietly Waited For The Appearance Of The Whole

Herd,  This Being Their Usual Feeding-Time.

 

One By One They Majestically Stalked From The Jungle. We Were

Speculating On The Probable Number Of This Large Herd,  When One Of Them

Suddenly Winded Us,  And,  With Magical Quickness,  They All Wheeled Round

And Rushed Back Into The Jungle.

 

Calling Upon My Little Troop Of Gun-Bearers To Keep Close Up,  Away We

Dashed After Them At Full Speed; Down The Steep Hollow And Through The

High Lemon Grass,  Now Trampled Into Lanes By The Retreating Elephants.

 

In One Instant The Jungle Seemed Alive; There Were Upwards Of Fifty

Elephants In The Herd. The Trumpets Rang Through The Forest,  The Young

Trees And Underwood Crashed In All Directions With An Overpowering

Noise,  As This Mighty Herd,  Bearing Everything Before It,  Crashed In One

United Troop Through The Jungle.

 

At The Extreme End Of The Grassy Hollow There Was A Snug Corner Formed

By An Angle In The Jungle. A Glade Of Fine Short Turf Stretched For A

Small Distance Into The Forest,  And,  As The Herd Seemed To Be Bearing

Down In This Direction,  Wortley And I Posted Off As Hard As We Could Go,

Hoping To Intercept Them If They Crossed The Glade. We Arrived There In

A Few Moments,  And Taking Our Position On This Fine Level Sward,  About

Ten Paces From The Forest,  We Awaited The Apparently Irresistible Storm

That Was Bursting Exactly Upon Us.

 

No Pen,  Nor Tongue Can Describe The Magnificence Of The Scene; The

Tremendous Roaring Of The Herd,  Mingled With The Shrill Screams Of Other

Elephants; The Bursting Stems Of The Broken Trees; The Rushing Sound Of

The Leafy Branches As Though A Tempest Were Howling Through Them--All

Part 3 Chapter 12 (A Jungle Trip) Pg 110

This Concentrating With Great Rapidity Upon The Very Spot Upon Which We

Were Standing

 

This Was An Exciting Moment,  Especially To Nerves Unaccustomed To The

Sport.

 

The Whole Edge Of The Forest Was Faced With A Dense Network Of Creepers;

From The Highest Tree-Tops To The Ground They Formed A Leafy Screen Like

A Green Curtain,  Which Clothed The Forest As Ivy Covers The Walls Of A

House. Behind This Opaque Mass The Great Actors In The Scene Were At

Work,  And The Whole Body Would Evidently In A Few Seconds Burst Through

This Leafy Veil And Be Right Upon Us.

 

On They Came,  The Forest Trembling With The Onset. The Leafy Curtain

Burst Into Tatters; The Jungle Ropes And Snaky Stems,  Tearing The

Branches From The Treetops,  Were In A Few Moments Heaped In A Tangled

And Confused Ruin. One Dense Mass Of Elephants' Heads,  In Full Career,

Presented Themselves Through The Shattered Barrier Of Creepers.

 

Running Towards Them With A Loud Holloa,  They Were Suddenly Checked By

Our Unexpected Apparition,  But The Confused Mass Of Elephants Made The

Shooting Very Difficult. Two Elephants Rushed Out To Cross The Little

Nook Within Four Yards Of Me,  And I Killed Both By A Right And Left

Shot. Wallace Immediately Pushed A Spare Rifle Into My Hand,  Just As A

Large Elephant,  Meaning Mischief,  Came Straight Towards Me,  With Ears

Cocked,  From The Now Staggered Body Of The Herd. I Killed Her With The

Front Shot,  Both Barrels Having Gone Off At Once,  The Heavy Charge Of

Powder In The Right-Hand Barrel Having Started The Trigger Of The Left

Barrel By The Concussion. Round Wheeled The Herd,  Leaving Their Three

Leaders Dead; And Now The Race Began.

 

It Was A Splendid Forest,  And The Elephants Rushed Off At About Ten

Miles An Hour,  In Such A Compact Troop That Their Sterns Formed A Living

Barrier,  And Not A Head Could Be Seen. At Length,  After A Burst Of About

Two Hundred Yards,  The Deep And Dry Bed Of A Torrent Formed A Trench

About Ten Feet In Width.

 

Not Hesitating At This Obstacle,  Down Went The Herd Without Missing A

Step; The Banks Crumbled And Half-Filled The Trench As The Leaders

Scrambled Across,  And The Main Body Rushed After Them At An

Extraordinary Pace.

 

I Killed A Large Elephant In The Act Of Crossing; He Rolled Into The

Trench,  But Struggling To Rise,  I Gave Him The Other Barrel In The Nape

Of The Neck,  Which,  Breaking His Spine,  Extinguished Him. He Made A

Noble Bridge,  And,  Jumping Upon His Carcass,  We Cleared The Ravine,  And

Again The Chase Continued,  Although The Herd Had Now Gained About Thirty

Paces.

 

Upon A Fine Meadow Of Grass,  About Four Feet High,  The Herd Now Rushed

Along In A Compact Mass Extending In A Broad Line Of Massive

Hind-Quarters Over A Surface Of Half An Acre. This Space Formed A

Complete Street In Their Wake,  As They Levelled Everything Before Them;

And The High Grass Stood Up On Either Side Like A Wail.

 

Along This Level Road We Ran At Full Speed,  And By Great Exertions

Managed To Keep Within Twenty Yards Of The Game. Full A Quarter Of A

Mile Was Passed At This Pace Without A Shot Being Fired. At Length One

Elephant Turned And Faced About Exactly In Front Of Me. My Three

Double-Barrelled Rifles Were Now All Empty,  And I Was Carrying The

Little No. 16 Gun. I Killed Him With The Right-Hand Barrel,  But I Lost

Ground By Stopping To Fire.

 

A Jungle Lay About Two Hundred Yards In Front Of The Herd,  And They

Increased Their Speed To Arrive At This Place Of Refuge.

 

Giving The Little Gun,  With One Barrel Still Loaded,  To Wallace,  I Took

The Four-Ounce Rifle In Exchange,  As I Knew I Could Not Close Up With

The Herd Before They Reached The Jungle,  And A Long Shot Would Be My

Last Chance. With This Heavy Gun (21 Lbs.) I Had Hard Work To Keep My

Distance,  Which Was About Forty Yards From The Herd.

 

Palliser And Wortley Were Before Me,  And Within Twenty Yards Of The

Elephants. They Neared The Jungle; I Therefore Ran Off To My Left As

Fast As I Could Go,  So As To Ensure A Side-Shot. I Was Just In Time To

Command Their Flank As The Herd Reached The Jungle. A Narrow River,  With

Steep Banks Of Twenty Feet In Height,  Bordered The Edge,  And I Got A

Shot At A Large Elephant Just As He Arrived Upon The Brink Of The Chasm.

He Was Fifty Paces Off,  But I Hit Him In The Temple With The Four-Ounce,

And Rolled Him Down The Precipitous Bank Into The River. Here He Lay

Groaning; So,  Taking The Little Gun,  With One Barrel Still Loaded,  I

Extinguished Him From The Top Of The Bank.

 

Oh,  For Half-A-Dozen Loaded Guns! I Was Now Unloaded,  And The Fun Began

In Real Earnest. The Herd Pushed For A Particular Passage Down The Steep

Bank. It Was Like A Rush At The Door Of The Opera; They Jostled Each

Other In A Confused Melee,  And Crossed The River With The Greatest

Difficulty. By Some Bad Luck Palliser And Wortley Only Killed One As The

Herd Was Crossing The River,  But They Immediately Disappeared In

Pursuit,  As The Elephants,  Having Effected Their Passage,  Retreated In

Thick Jungle On The Other Side.

 

I Was Obliged To Halt To Load,  Which I Did As Quickly As Possible. While

I Was Ramming The Balls Down,  I Heard Several Shots Fired In Quick

Succession,  And When Loaded,  I Ran On With My Gun-Bearers Towards The

Spot.

 

It Was Bad,  Thorny Jungle,  Interspersed With Numerous Small Glades Of

Fine Turf.

 

Upon Arriving In One Of These Glades,  About A Quarter Of A Mile Beyond

The River,  I Saw A Crowd Of Gun-Bearers Standing Around Some Person

Lying Upon The Ground. Neither Palliser Nor Wortley Were To Be Seen,  And

For An Instant A Chill Ran Through Me,  As I Felt Convinced That Some

Accident Had Happened. 'Where Are Masters?' I Shouted To The Crowd Of

Part 3 Chapter 12 (A Jungle Trip) Pg 111

Men,  And The Next Moment I Was Quite Relieved By Seeing Only A Coolie

Lying On The Ground. On Examining The Man I Found He Was More Frightened

Than Hurt,  Although He Was Cut In Several Places And Much Bruised.

 

Upon Giving A Shout,  Palliser And Wortley Returned To The Spot. They Now

Explained The Mystery. They Were Running On The Fresh Tracks In This

Glade,  No Elephants Being Then In Sight,  When They Suddenly Heard A Rush

In The Jungle,  And In Another Instant Two Elephants Charged Out Upon

Them. Wortley And Palliser Both Fired,  But Without Effect--The

Gun-Bearers Bolted,--An Elephant Knocked One Man Over,  And Tried To

Butt Him Against The Ground; But Two More Shots From Both Palliser And

Wortley Turned Him; They Were Immediately Obliged To Run In Their Turn,

As The Other Elephant Charged,  And Just Grazed Palliser With His Trunk

Behind. Fortunately,  They Doubled Short Round,  Instead Of Continuing A

Straight Course,  And The Elephants Turned Into The Jungle. They Followed

Them For Some Little Distance,  But The Jungles Were So Bad That There

Was No Chance,  And They Had Returned When I Had Shouted.

 

The Man Who Was Hurt Was Obliged To Be Supported Home. Two Of The Guns

Were Lost,  Which The Gun-Bearers In Their Fright Had Thrown Away. After

A Long Search We Found Them Lying In The High Bushes.

 

We Now Returned Along The Line Of Hunt To Cut Off The Elephants' Tails.

I Had Fired At Six,  All Of Which Were Bagged; These We Accordingly Found

In Their Various Positions. One Of Them Was A Very Large Female,  With

Her Udder Full Of Milk. Being Very Thirsty,  Both Wortley And I Took A

Long Pull At This,  To The Evident Disgust Of The Natives. It Was Very

Good,  Being Exactly Like Cow's Milk. This Was The Elephant That I Had

Killed Doubly By The Left-Hand Barrel Exploding By Accident,  And The Two

Balls Were Only A Few Inches Apart In The Forehead.

 

There Had Been Very Bad Luck With This Herd; The Only Dead Elephant,  In

Addition To These Six,  Was That Which Wortley And Palliser Had Both

Fired At In The River,  And Another Which Palliser Had Knocked Down In

The High Grass When We Had Just Commenced The Attack--At Which Time He

Had Separated From Us To Cut Off The Three Elephants That We Had Just

Seen Among The Rocks.

 

On Arrival At The