[Illustration: THE ATTACK ON THE BULL ELEPHANT.]
Okili and I had approached within twelve or fifteen yards; we were facing each other; circumstance had favored us. The moon was hidden under a cloud, and just as the cloud disappeared we raised our guns. We were to fire between the elephant's eyes. Niamkala also raised his gun, and we all fired at the same time. We were upon our feet at once, and waited for the effect of our shots. The elephant seemed to stagger, then suddenly he made a plunge towards Okili and me, charging at full speed. We turned instantly sidewise to let him pass in front of us. In a moment he was near; we made three steps backwards and he passed us. I fired another shot; we heard a thumping noise on the ground; the big beast had fallen dead.
Of course the whole herd decamped after we had fired. They went through the jungle, breaking every small sapling that came in their way and barred their flight. For quite a while we could hear them, until the noise gradually died away in the distance.
Then we left the dead bull and went on the prairie, and saw some men running in our direction. As they came in sight they shouted, despite their being out of breath, "We have killed two elephants and wounded one that has run away."
We shouted back, "We have killed the big bull elephant."
We embraced one another, and shouted in the wildest manner, "We are men! We are men!" Then they all danced round the bull elephant, and exclaimed, "You wanted to kill our people; you charged them, but you got killed instead." And they had a war-dance round the dead animal, after which we went to their camp and saw the two cow elephants. They danced round them, after which they cut a piece off each elephant, and took these into the wood and left them there upon large leaves, for the spirits Mombo and Olombo, who ruled over the hunting, to feed upon.
One of the bull elephant's tusks weighed sixty-nine pounds, the other one sixty-one. The four tusks of the cow elephants weighed one hundred and eleven pounds.
The following morning, Mbango, Macondai, Niamkala, and Fasiko left us to go back to the village to fetch people to carry the elephant meat and the tusks of ivory.
After they had left, we eagerly followed the tracks the elephants had made during their flight. For hours we followed these. Fortunately Okili was well acquainted with this part of the forest. A number of peculiar-shaped trees were his landmarks. During the day we crossed over several hunting-paths.