About a quarter of an hour passed in suspense, when we suddenly
heard a chorus of wild cries of excitement on the other side of
the jungle, raised iy the aggageers, who had headed the herd, and
were driving them back towards us. In a few minutes a tremendous
crashing in the jungle, accompanied by the occasional shrill
scream of a savage elephant, and the continued shouts of the
mounted aggageers, assured us that they were bearing down exactly
upon our direction; they were apparently followed even through
the dense jungle by the wild and reckless Arabs. I called my men
close together, and told them to stand fast, and hand me the guns
quickly; and we eagerly awaited the onset that rushed towards us
like a storm. On they came, tearing everything before them. For
a moment the jungle quivered and crashed; a second later, and,
headed by an immense elephant, the herd thundered down upon us.
The great leader came direct at me, and was received with right
and left in the forehead from a Reilly No. 10 as fast as I could
pull the triggers. The shock made it reel backwards for an
instant, and fortunately turned it and the herd likewise. My
second rifle was beautifully handed, and I made a quick right and
left at the temples of two fine elephants, dropping them both
stone-dead.
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