CHARGED BY A ROGUE ELEPHANT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 253, 4 March 1911, Page 10

CHARGED BY A ROGUE ELEPHANT.

THE TRUE STORY OF A THRILLING ADVENTURE. In the current number of ,tne Scout; Surgeon-General Lloyd, principal medical officer at Pretoria, South Africa, details a thrilling adventure he had in Upper Burmah with a "rogue" elephant. Such an elephant, he explains, is one that has been driven from the herd for misbehaviour and is forced to roam by himself through forest and jungle, a solitary outcast. This does not, of course, improve his temper. In time "rogue" elephants become so fierce that they will attack, without provocation, whatever crosses their path.

The particular "rogue" Surgeon-Gen-eral Lloyd set out to hunt was a noted man-hunter. Nothing daunted, however, he set out on his quest, and arrived at the village, in the locality of which his quarry had done so much mischief. "The village shikari, Moung Nyo, a most intelligent and sportsmanlike Burman, was positive that the elephant was in a teak and bamboo jungle about two miles off. So we decided (writes Sur-geon-General Lloyd) to make direct for there as soon as day broke, and as it was possible we might have to track and follow a patrol route, if he were on the move, I gave orders to take a day's provisions with us, also blankets, etc. "This meant the employment of bearers; so when we started the next morning, we had quite a big following—six coolies with loads, two shikaris, and several natives, who joined us out of sheerlove of adventure. The Burman, I may | mention, is a keen sportsman, and the professional Burmese shikari is absolutely devoid of fear, provided always that he holds in his hands a weapon that he knows he can rely upon. "The village shikari, Moung Nyo, acted as tracker, and carried one of my rifles, a double-barrelled .577 Express. He picked up the elephant's spoor soon after entering the jungle, and there was no difficulty in following it, the ground being soft and the tracks quite plain. I

"After about an hour's tracking we came to a belt of elephant grass. This grass varies in height from ten to forty feet, and is so dense as to be altogether impassable except by the narrow paths that are made by the elephants themselves in their journeyings to and fro. -Following a -rogue' elephant into this thick and high grass jungle is very dangerous, as there is no means of cs-i-ape if charged. Indeed, a very wellknown sportsman and fearless hunter of big game lost his life in this way in the ruby mines district of Burmah, not veryfar from where we were, some few year's a s°- ■ Ul

"However, there seemed no help for it on this occasion, so after a brief 'council of war' we decided to follow the track through the grass. The village shikari still led the way, I followed with my shikari, Moung Po, and took from him the 4-bore rifle he was carrying as we entered.

•'Moung Nyo, after he had gone a little way, expressed the opinion that our quarry had gone right through the grass patch, which was here, he informed us, not very wide, and was hidden in the bamboo jungle on the other side. But he was wrong, as it happened, for we had not penetrated the thick grass jungle more than 200 yards or so when a tremendous trumpeting to our right told that the elephant was close upon us, and also that he was fully aware of our nearness to him.

"We were, I need not say, completely taken by surprise; but, luckily for us, at the particular spot where we were there happened to be a small open space, where the grass was somewhat thin and not as high as usual. Also there were a few teak trees scattered about, aHd my coolies were goon up these, and out of harm's way. "I placed myself close to a small tree, facing the point where the elephant appeared to trumpet from. The village shikari, Moung Nyo, with my .577 gun, stood a few yards to my right, close to another small tree.

"We had not long to wait. Indeed, it seemed only a matter of seconds before ii' elephant burst through out of the thicker and higher grass, "He never once halted, but came straight at us. He could not, I think,' have seen us at first, but must have been guided solely by his sense of smell. "As I felt that it was a matter of life or death, I waited until he came within twenty yards before firing. Even then, however, it was very difficult to make eure of the head shot, as he held himself very high, and the grass in some places' l concealed the forehead spot. "But I had little time to think, for the brute charged with great swiftness. So I am at what I thought would be about the right place for the one vulnerable epot on the forehead, and lel drive. The recoil eaused me to stagger backwards, and, catching, my heels in a broken branch, I fell flat on mv back.

"At the same moment the elephant came crashing through the high grass immediately in fron'; of me, very much alive, and obviously exceedingly angry. "I felt sure my time had come, for his huge bulk loomed right over me, and he was flinging his trunk about and trumpeting loudly in a perfect paroxysm of rage. To be to death, I refleeted, was the least that I Gould expect, and 1 pi-Bjed that the end, when it came, might come quickly. "But the danger passed as swiftly as it had come. Instead of crushing me into a jelly, the huge beast suddenly turned and charged Moiing Nyo, its attention having evidently been attracted by some movement of his.

"There was a very loud report, and the next tiling I heard was the elephant tearing a path through the grass away from us.

"i was up at once, re-loadod my gun, and ran across to Moung Nyo. "He .said that when the elephant charged him he jumped behind the tree, and fired both barrels at once into the animal's side as it slid past. "This accounted for the loudness of the rsport I had heard. Evidently, too, the double dose of lead had wounded the elephant pretty severely, so instead of turning and again charging us, as is the us-ual way with these old 'rogues,' he had turned tail and made off for good through the jungle.

"My own shikari, Moung I>o, although unarmed, had remained close to me in the grass all the while, and he quickly picked up the wounded elephant's tracks. We followed the spoor, and eventually, after four hours' tracking, we came to him in a little glade near a running stream.

"He was pretty badly hurt, and there wa» no difficulty in finishing him. "Hi- was a single tusker, the other tusk having been broken off, probably in battle with another male elephant. The one tusk, however, measured six feet in length and weighed just over sixty pound*. Tt and the feet are amongst my most treasured trophies."