re. I felt very anxious about it, but he said that he was
confident, unless his rifle failed him, that he should kill the beast.
Having ascertained the way the wind was blowing, we made a slight round
so as to get to leeward. We got behind some trees, while Charley,
imitating the native way of approaching the enormous creatures, stooped
down among the grass, and began to creep up slowly towards the elephant,
keeping himself entirely concealed, while only occasionally could we get
a glimpse of him to assure us that he was moving on. I regretted that I
had not insisted on accompanying him, to fire in case he should miss,
though he himself had no apprehensions on that score. For several
minutes we could perceive no motion in the long grass. Not a word was
spoken. No sound came from any part of the forest, except that we
fancied we could hear the flapping of the elephant's ears. For a few
seconds even that ceased, and then there came a sharp report, ringing
through the forest and across the plain. I dashed forward and saw the
elephant raise its trunk in the air, and move on as if about to destroy
its enemy, but the instant afterwards the trunk dropped, the huge animal
staggered, and down it came with a crash on the shrubs and rotten wood
beneath the trees. Charley started up scarcely three yards from where
the creature fell. Numbers of monkeys and birds shrieking and screaming
clambered chattering away amid the branches, or flew off across the
plain at the report of Charley's rifle, while the blacks came rushing
forward, shouting and congratulating him and us on the success of his
shot. Never had they seen an animal brought down so suddenly. This was
the first elephant we had killed on the expedition. Charley killed two
others from the ground, while Harry and I each shot one while we were
perched on a tree, a far safer, if not so honourable a position. All
the natives together had, in the meantime, only killed three, by
piercing them with their spears, and they had lost two men crushed by
the monsters' feet. Altogether, Kendo acknowledged that it was the most
successful hunting expedition he had ever engaged in, while our success
raised us greatly in the estimation of the blacks, but also made them
more anxious than ever to retain us. We were well aware of this, and
came to the conclusion that if we were to get away, it must be by
stealth, as we had escaped from the other savages. On approaching the
village,