Копи царя Соломона
An Elephant Hunt
Thesolitarybullstoodfiftyyardsorsotothissideoftheherd,overwhichhewasevidentlykeepingsentry,andaboutsixtyyardsfromus. Thinkingthathewouldseeorwindus,andthatitwouldprobablystartthemoffagainifwetriedtogetnearer,especiallyasthegroundwasratheropen,weallaimedatthisbull,andatmywhisperedword,wefired. Thethreeshotstookeffect,anddownhewentdead. Againtheherdstarted,butunfortunatelyforthemaboutahundredyardsfurtheronwasanullah,ordried-outwatertrack,withsteepbanks,aplaceverymuchresemblingtheonewherethePrinceImperialwaskilledinZululand. Intothistheelephantsplunged,andwhenwereachedtheedgewefoundthemstrugglinginwildconfusiontogetuptheotherbank, fillingtheairwiththeirscreams,andtrumpetingastheypushedoneanotherasideintheirselfishpanic,justlikesomanyhumanbeings. Nowwasouropportunity,andfiringawayasquicklyaswecouldload,wekilledfiveofthepoorbeasts, andnodoubtshouldhavebaggedthewholeherd,hadtheynotsuddenlygivenuptheirattemptstoclimbthebankandrushedheadlongdownthenullah. Weweretootiredtofollowthem,andperhapsalsoalittlesickofslaughter,eightelephantsbeingaprettygoodbagforoneday.
Soafterwewererestedalittle,andtheKafirshadcutouttheheartsoftwoofthedeadelephantsforsupper,westartedhomewards,verywellpleasedwithourday’swork,havingmadeupourmindstosendthebearersonthemorrowtochopawaythetusks.
