ELEPHANT HUNTING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 18943, 14 February 1925, Page 1 (Supplement)

ELEPHANT HUNTING.

TWO EXCITING DAYS.

BY IT. H. OSTLER.

No. V. The next day was M's. "Wo separated as usual and I walked all day without finding a fresh elephant track. M. strolled down a, narrow sandy ridgo extending like a tongue into a; vast swamp. After walking down it for some two miles he spied a fine bull elephant in the swamp. Ho waded in, got quite close to it, and gave it a shot. It fell instantly, but just as instantly up rose eight or nine elephants which he had not seen and charged down on him The first was another good bull. As it came ho gave it a head-on shot and knocked it down but the others came on. His boy seized bis arm and pulled him out on to the ridge, and they ran along it at their best pace. But after them came the herd, and they were chased along the ridge for two miles, there being no other means of escape. M. reached camp that night absolutely exhausted from the strain of that run, and it took him a day or two to get over it. At their best pace they were just able to keep ahead of the elephants until they reached the point where the ridge broadened out, and they turned at right angles. The elephants lost sight of them and kept straight on, and they were saved. Next morning they returned and found that both elephants had recovered and gone off. A Wounded Elephant. The next day again was my day. I had started out at the first streak of dawn with Fundi and four more boys. After a long tramp without coming across any fresh tracks wo came to a patch of grass several hundred acres in extent sparsely dotted with low trees. The smoke from grass fires was so thick that one could not see more than half a mile. We walked out on to tho plain and as wo advanced single, rounded trees kept looming up out of the mist. I was looking at one of these trees when suddenly it moved, and I was quickly aware it was an elephant. It started to walk slowly across our path toward a thick patch of acacia scrub. Wo soon saw that it was a splendid bull with big tusks. We bent double to hide ourselves in tho grass, which was up to our waists, and ran at our best pace to intercept him. We were only just in time. I had run nearly half a mile bent double, leaving my boys to watch the elephant. Fundi ran ahead, now and then taking a cautious peep. He stopped behind a bunch of reeds, handed me my .318 and beckoned in front of him. I peeped over and a magnificent bull elephant was slowly dawdling towards us, and utterly unconscious of our presence. He was not more than 30 yards away and was slowly approaching us. I stood watching him approach, not knowing wheie to shoot. He walked to within 25yds. and then stopped. Then a succulent bunch of green at his side seemed to entice him, and he turned slowly side, on and wrapped his great trunk round a swath of- grass. There was my opportunity. I had a perfect brain shot. I aimed carefully at the spot and fired. Ho did not collapse at the shot., as he would havo done if the bullet had reached the brain, but it must have gono close, for he staggered like a drunken man. I turned round to snatch my heavy rifle and saw tho boy who carried it bolting. Fundi was standing close behind with a third rifle I had taken, but by a mistake lie had tho wrong rifle. I yelled to him so angrily to come back, that he leturncd at the run and I snatched the rifle from his hands. At Close Quarters. By this time the bull had slowly swung round and presented his other side. I immediately gave him a right and lett behind the shoulder, and they knocked him right off his feet. He lay on his side with bis feet toward me, kicking violently and making mighty efforts to get on to his feet again. Twice lie almost succeeded, sitting up like a dog. I then thought I would run round him and put a bullet into tho top of his head. Fundi had taken tho .318 with four cartridges still in it. He had had the strictest instructions not to fire unless I was in urgent danger. I ran forward with no eyes for anything but the elephant. In a few steps I sank to my knees in mud. I pressed forward desperately to get out of it and in another two steps 1 was stuck fast in soft mud up to my thighs with tho elephant thrashing the ground and making violent efforts to rise within ten yards of me. Fundi evidently thought this was his chance, and he put a bullet into the elephant. I yelled to him to slop, but he either did not or would not understand, and before I had floundered clear of tho mud on to dry ground he had fired all four shots. He was an appalling shot. The bull had lately had a mud bath and was covered with caked mud. Twico I saw tho mud fly from his hide where the bullet struck, and there was more than 6ft. between tho two marks. By this timo I had struggled free from tho mud, ran round tho elephant, and given him a shot on tho top of the head, which reached his brain and instantly killed him. Ho was a splendid bull. He was lift. 6in. high, and his two tusks weighed 1471b. They are now in my hall in Auckland. A Fsast for tho Natives. Tho next day I went with the boys to watch the tusks being cut out and tho beast being cut up. The killing of an elephant is a red-letter day for the native. He loves elephant flesh above all meat; and will eat every ounce of him inside and out, except tho skin and the bones. Although wo arrived early a crowd of natives had already collected, though by what means they had got the news and had found the place 1 could never discover. Soon there was an excited and noisy crowd of nearly 300 natives, men, women and boys. I would not let them start until the tusks had been cut out, as all tho meat would have been gone before my own boys could get a chance at it. Tho cutting up of the elephant proved to be. gruesome but interesting. A yelling crowd of natives fought for places and began hacking away at tho carcase with frantic energy. All wore armed with native knives, a spear head stuck in a short handle. The knives flashed and jabbed in all directions and before the work was completed four men had received serious wounds, which they had to bind up. Those who secured places hacked off lumps of meat, which they handed to their wives and children who were waiting behind. There were several stand up fights. We spent several more days at that camp, but we got. no more elephants. Tho shooting had frightened them away. We shot, other game and continued to look for elephants, until our food ran out, and wo had to return to our main camp. Thus ended one of the best fortnight's hunting wo had ever enjoyed.