Following their leader, they dashed into the water before either of the hunters was within shooting distance. The colonel dismounted from his horse just as the last of the herd entered the river. The elephant swims so low that no vulnerable part of him is exposed, and therefore the hunters could only stand and wait till the frightened animals had reached the opposite bank.
ELEPHANTS HUNTED IN THE WATER.
Fortune was against the elephants, as the bank was so steep that they could not climb it, but were obliged to break it away by digging with their tusks and feet. They are accustomed to this sort of thing, and in a little while had broken away great masses of the earth and formed a sloping ascent up which they could climb. The delay gave the colonel and Doctor Bronson a chance to get their weapons in readiness, and as the first of the elephants emerged from the river the colonel took a shot at him.
The bullet took effect in the animal's head, causing him to turn partly around and expose his side to the Doctor. The latter took instant advantage of the position and fired. The elephant fell into the water and floated down the stream.
The second elephant that climbed the bank was served in the same way, but it took five bullets to bring him down instead of two. The distance was too far for good work, and the third elephant escaped without serious injury, as he did not present a good mark. The colonel's rifle became unserviceable on account of the sticking of a cartridge; the Doctor found his shoulder considerably bruised by the recoil, and concluded that two elephants were quite enough for one morning's work. However, he tried another shot at the third elephant, and by this time the herd had broken the bank sufficiently to allow them to mount the land and make their best paces for the woods.
Frank asked the Doctor why he did not keep on firing till the last of the herd had gone.
"Well," replied that gentleman, "an elephant rifle is no toy to handle, and two or three shots in rapid succession are about as much as one desires. Sir Samuel Baker had a similar experience with a herd of elephants, and was quite satisfied with a couple of prizes. He says that his rifle was sure to kill an elephant when fired at short range, and half kill the man that held it. Once his rifle was thrown out of his hands a distance of several yards by the force of the recoil, and an Arab hunter who tried to use it had his collar-bone broken by the blow."
The attention of the party was now turned to securing the carcasses of the slaughtered elephants. They were floating down the stream with the current, and men were sent with ropes and boats to bring them to land. This was not a work of great difficulty, though it required much expenditure of muscle, as the bodies were large and unwieldy. The body of the elephant floats on the water, while that of the hippopotamus sinks as soon as it is killed; but it rises again in a few hours, when the gases within have distended the stomach.