Strange Adventure with an Elephant.

Manawatu Herald, 19 April 1892, Page 3

Strange Adventure with an Elephant.

About two months ago, writes a Muisfontein (South Africa) correspondont to a Rome paper, when the Sunday's River was in full flood, I was on my way to the Bay with a waggon-load of wool, and ode Sunday evening— the moon being near its full— l oiitspanned about" a mile from the Addo Station. About eleven o'clock I was awakened by the loud crash of bush caused by the -^•ance of a troop of elephants; and ft "' r T , •" *"om under the when I got. oiu *.. waggon I was perfectly awe-au^.' to Bee the bush literally, swarming with these huge beasts At the Fust I Was so. frightened that I diet not kiiow what to tto.j net so with my boys, who made up; their minds quickly* and disappeared like baboons ftikt left nic alohe, Ift a few seconds I managed to piill myself together; arid made fttr a tree about d.ne hundred yards dlstau't and after a" little e^ertioii I.niariaged to climb' it; ami iolt .safe frr'oiii this tree I .saw the. elephants approach my waggon and deliberately pull of. the bales qf : wool and commence rolling them towards the rivo.lv Olio of the bales Ayas rolled by a huge-buii dose to hiy bvlse; ai?d such was my stato.of fear I lost lir^ balance, and fell flop from -the branch on to the bale.

The clo.phant now seemed so much frightened at my sudden appearance as I was on finding myself so near him, and ho immediately began to beat a hasty retreat, but when he paw me trying to regain, my position in the tree, he at once made a rush for me, whereupon I dodged behind the wool.

For an hour andfive minutes the brute chased me round and round the bale, and although I was getting exhausted he seemed to enjoy the fun.

I had given up all hope of escape when he made a plunge at hie across the bale, and sent his tusks right into the wool. Now was my chance before he could get his tusks clear, so I quie ly mounted the baie in order to reach the lower brauch of the tree, when in his eagerness to get at me, he actually lifted both bale and man right up among the branches, and by means of his unintentional help I regained my former place of safety.

He now managed to extricate his tusks, and with a roar like thunder " went for " the tree,' but it was too big for him ; in his endeavour to uproot the tree he broke off his right tusk, and I now possess the broken portion, which measures sft 3£in. The breaking of the tusk settled his business, and in a few minutes he disappeared into the bush, leaving me and the bale of wool behind.

I now had time to look about me, and close to the bank of the river I saw the herd busy rolling my bales of wool ; bale after bale was sent rolling over into the river, the brutes meanwhile piping ; vigorously. I remained in the tree the whole night— and it was bitterly cold, I can tell you. At : daybreak, there being no signs of the elephants, I went off to the river, but could find no wool. My boys now turned up, and with them I went right down to the mouth of the river, but the wool had all been carried off to sea.

•- You can now imagine my plight, seeing that I was only left with one bale of wool, and ;to add to my trouble the merchants to whom the load of wool was consigned are trying to make me pay for the lost bales. I do not see that I as a carrier am responsible for the acts of elephants on the road, and I intend defending the case in Court should the said merchants (who are well-known in the Bay), decide to go to law. If I lose the case I think it will be very hard indeed, and unless I can raise a second mortgage on my farm I shall have to go insolvent.