PART 10
May 11.
We passed a sleepless night. Bugs and fleas bit us so much that even the
Abyssinians who were used to them could not sleep; and the whole time, we
tossed and turned. In the morning, we set out and went to the forests where
elephants kept themselves. At ten o'clock in the morning, from the summit of a
ridge, we saw below, in a clearing of the dense forest, a herd of elephants.
We left our mules and horses here; and by ourselves, going around the
elephants, we began to approach them in such a way that the wind blew from
them to us. The forest is so dense here that you can only force your way along
elephant trails. Bita-rasha led us; and, stepping carefully, he walked ahead,
holding his spear at the ready in case of an unexpected encounter. I followed
him, with Zelepukin behind me, and, finally, stretched out in a file, walked
the rest of the ashkers. When we came to the place where we had seen the
elephants, they were no longer there; and we ran along their fresh tracks.
Jumping across deep holes, pressed by the elephants' feet, we then forced our
way across a boggy swamp, crossed a small mountain ridge and went into
another, even denser forest. Complete quiet reigned there, and the elephants
must be not far away. We held our breath and moved without making noise...
Suddenly a Kaffa stopped and pointed out to me with his finger some dark-brown
mass, which, like a wall, obstructed the trail, just a few paces ahead. This
was the belly, chest, or hind quarters of an elephant. I was in no condition
to figure out which. I was afraid that my impatient ashkers would not restrain
themselves and would begin to fire; so I shot at the bulk I saw. Shots from
Zelepukin and my ashkers rang out behind my back. The forest began to rumble,
trees began to crack, and the whole herd, in panicky fear, broke into a run.
The elephant I had wounded also ran, and having separated himself from the
rest of the herd, bellowed piercingly in a thicket. We rushed in pursuit. My
ashkers flew like whirlwinds, jumped across toppled down trees and hummocks,
and shot on the run. Zelepukin and I
also began to pursue the elephants, but soon had to fall behind. On one of the
trails, on the leaves of bushes, on the right side, blood was found; and I
went to look for the wounded elephant. But there were so many elephant trails
in the forest, that I soon lost its tracks. Soon I stumbled upon another
elephant and wounded it, but it also went off into a thicket. From afar, I
heard the shots of my ashkers, But they soon fell silent.
Evidently, the elephants had gotten away. I lost all hope for a successful
hunt and began to return to the place where I had left my mule. That was seven
versts [four miles] away. With me went Zelepukin, two Kaffas and the gun
bearer Aulale, who this time carried only binoculars. Having climbed to the
crest of one mountain ridge, we suddenly saw below, on the opposite side of a
rivulet, in the arch between two forests, the whole herd of elephants. It must
have turned back and now was going from one forest to the other. We were 800
paces from them. I quickly got down on one knee and opened fire on the herd
with frequent fire from my three-eighths-inch caliber rifle. The puzzled
elephants stopped for a moment, then circled around one large tree, and went
back into the forest. Under the tree, one elephant lagged behind and lay down,
and in the thicket several wounded ones bellowed. At a run, I rushed down the
mountain to the elephant which had failed. But when I got close, as it turned
out, the elephant had gone away. Zelepukin and I rushed along various trails
to look for the wounded animal. I also made the Kaffa look, but they had made
up their minds not to and stayed at the edge of the forest. Suddenly, in front
of me, the bushes started to break... The cracking quickly got closer. I stood
behind a turn in the trail, but after a few moments everything grew quiet. The
elephant stopped somewhere quite nearby, having hidden itself now -- it must
be behind some tree -- and waiting for me. Severely wounded elephants
continually do this, and then they are very dangerous. I strained my sight to
see it in the dense thicket, and cautiously moved in the direction of the
place where the cracking had resounded just before. Aulale also went with me
and suddenly cried out in a voice which wasn't his own, "There it is!" Hidden
behind a large tree, twenty paces from me, with a bellow, the elephant was now
rushing headlong in attack. I shot, and it went toppling over, weightily, just
five paces from me. The bullet had hit it in the head. To be sure, I shot it
again. Then with my saber, I cut off the customary Abyssinian trophies -- the
ends of the trunk, tail, and ears.
Blessings to all
Biniam
Arlington, Virginia, USA