HLI Chronicle 1909 - The Royal Highland Fusiliers

HIGHLAND LIGHT INFANTRY CHRONICLE.with my orderly, who followed with the '303acout 150 yards behind_me. I got to about150 yards from the elephant, when I cameto an open bit of ground about 70 yards across.As I did not know exactly what he would doif he saw me, or if he would see, I decided tolet him have it from where I was. I knownow what I ought to have done, and what I .would do if I had the same stalk again-i.e.,risk getting aoross the open spaoe and getwithin 50 yards at all oosts; for, unless youmake certain and hit an elephant on anabsolutely vital spot, you have very littlechance of getting him. However, I let go athim, and before he had time to get startedlet him have the left barrel as welL I distinctlyheard the thud that one hears when thebullet strikes home, and was waiting to seehim drop. He did not drop, however; butran across my front about 200 yards, andthen stopped. I let him have a third shot,and he started right away from me this time.I followed him for about three quarters of amile, when he stopped again, and I got afourth shot into him. Of course, when heonce knew that someone was after him itwas impossible to get closer than about 200yards. The bush here was thin and scraggy,not thick enough to hide one, and yet thickenough to spoil one's aim. After the fourth'shot he got away into an absolutely impossibleswamp, and I could not follow. By thistime the sun was well up, and I went back tocamp, intending to come and have a look inthe evening for the elephant. I met myorderly with the small rifle, and he told mehe had seen a buffalo close to where I hadpassed. On the way back I saw a cub antelopestanding facing me, about 100 yards off, and,as I wanted some meat for my four carriers,I took the -303, and got him right in the middleof the chest. Of course it was not a hard shot,but I thought to myself at the time that ifI had only known the big rifle as well as Iknew the small one that elephant would nothave been where he was then.In the afternoon I went back to where theelephant had disappeared, and I tried to penetratethe swamp. We got 20 or 30 yards in,.up to our knees in water, and up to our heads.in grass and tangled sticks, etc., and everynow and then we would put our feet in an,elephant's foot-mark and go up to our waists.in water. We found it of no use trying to goon,so we turned back. Just then the hunterI had pointed to a clump of grass' and sticks,.and there, about a yard off, was a large snakeooiled up asleep. Personally, I was all forletting sleeping snakes lie, for if it was disturbedit could travel over that ground much fasterthan we could. My orderly, however, wantedto have a shot at it, but I thought he hadbetter not. We went on, and I happened toturn round, and saw the hunter getting anarrow ready to fire at it. Then I thoughtthat if anyone was going to shoot at it therifle might as well be used, so I let the orderlyhave a go. He fired, and hit it about six feetfrom its tail, and paralysed its tail end. Itsfore end was wriggling about the grass, however,and the orderly had another shot, andmissed, whereat the snake made a dive athim. He bolted, and at the same time smoteme on the head with the rifle (by mistake,of course). I managed to get the rifle, and,as the snake was lying there, with its head inthe air and mouth open, ready to make adive at anybody who went near enough,I fired a bullet down its throat and finished it.We had a bit of a job dragging it out of theswamp. We got it baok to camp by tying itto my saddle and dragging it along the ground.When we skinned it we found a lot of eggsinside, whioh my orderly promptly put onthe fire, cooked, and ate them. I had no·measuring tape, but it was seven paces long,which means about twenty feet, I shouldthink. The fishermen were very pleasedwhen I told them they could keep the flesh,which they evidently consider a great delicaoy.So much for my unsuooessful elephant hunt..I was very muoh a.nnoyed with myself for notgetting the elephant, but, all the same, Ienjoyed the day, and saw things that werenew and strange to me.The country frequented by the elephants: