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Entered according to Act of Congress, in June, 1870, by J. W. Buhke & Cos., in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the So. District of Georgia
Vol. IV—No. 9.
Abridged for Burke’s Weekly
A ROYAL ELEPHANT HUNT IN AFRICA.
_
N the ‘‘Adventures on the
Yga Great Hunting Grounds of the
World,”* we find a very in
teresting account of an elephant hunt,
in which His Royal Highness the Duke
of Edinburgh (a son of Queen Victoria)
played a prominent part.
The Duke, accompanied by the Gov
ernor, and some other gen-
tlemen, arrived at Knysna,
a little village some dis
tance from Simonstown,
at noon on the 7th of Sep-
the next morn
at the head of forty
norsemen, and attended
by seven bullock wagons,
started for elephant shoot
ing at Middle Erf, which
is about a good hour's ride
from the village. There
one of the scouts met the
party with the information
that the old bull elephant,
which the Duke was desi
rous of shooting, had left
that quarter only the night
before. The party at once
abandoned the road and
dashed across the country.
In less than an hour they
came to another road, and
as soon as the wagons ar
rived they encamped near
a pretty stream and had
breakfast. After breakfast
they continued their ride to BufFel’s
Nek, where they pitched camp. Here,
about nine o’clock, it began to rain
heavily, accompanied with a strong and
very disagreeable wind, which continued
until noon the next day.
The rain having abated, a little past
noon on the 11th the horses were
saddled and the party made another
start. After riding for more than an
hour along a high ridge, one of the
scouts came up and reported eleven
* Illustrated Library of Wonders: C. Scrib
ner & Cos., Now York.
elephants grazing in the valley below;
and on advancing a little further they
were distinctly seen. The Governor,
who had fallen behind, having come up,
the Duke made a move, and, followed
by the hunters, descended into the val
ley. But things did not turn out favor
ably, for the Duke, after several hours
hunting, was obliged to fire at long
range. He discharged six shots, all of
which took effect, and then the others
blazed away; but though three ele
phants were wounded, two of them
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very severely, they managed to escape.
There was no rain that night, but a
strong, cold and biting blast. The next
morning, there was anew arrival in the
camp, who came to inform the Duke
that the elephants had been seen the
previous evening on the edge of a de
tached piece of forest, which is situated
on Middle Erf; so the word was passed
to saddle up, after a cup of coffee, as
the party expected to take breakfast in
the same place where they had break
fasted the preceding day. In this, how
ever, they were disappointed, for before
MACON, GEORGIA, AUGUST 27, 1870.
“THE duke discharged both barrels in quick succession.” *
they reached their old camp, a messen
ger dashed up with information that
the elephants had been seen hardly an
hour before at Middle Erf. Os course,
there was no time for breakfast, and
the party dashed forward.
Middle Erf forest, where the Duke’s
famous exploit took place, “crowns the
summit of a gentle hill, within two hun
dred yards of the public road leading to
Plettenberg’s Bay. It is not more than
a mile in circumference, and stands com
pletely detached from the great forest,
which is about six hundred yards dis
tant at the nearest point. It is admira
bly situated for holding an elephant at
bay ; and, in fact, if the Duke had had
the choice of every part of the colony,
he could not have selected a spot better
adapted for his purpose. As soon as
the party reached Middle Erf, straps
were put on the dogs, and they were
held fast; for the Duke intended to
stalk the elephants if he should find
them in the open country; but on re
connoitering he could see nothing of
them, and therefore the dogs were
Whole No. 165.
turned loose again, while most of the
hunters were directed to go to the rear
of the detached piece of forest, and
drive the elephants out of the north side,
where the Duke and his escort were sta
tioned. Presently, one elephant showed
himself at the Duke’s side, trumpeting
and fighting with the dogs. This ele
phant disappeared and came in view
again half-a-dozen times, on two of
which he raised his head and held up
his trunk perpendicularly, as if trying
to discover by that means what chance
he had of making his es
cape. He evidently wanted
to break covert, but hesi
tated to do so from seeing
the Duke and his party,
who had stationed them
selves directly across the
path usually taken by the
elephants in passing from
Middle Erf to the great
forest.
“The Duke had been hi
therto standing about three
hundred yards from the
edge of the detached piece
of forest, but he and his
escort now decided to ad
vance within close range,
and fire at the elephant,
the next time he made his
appearance. An advance
was accordingly made by
the party, but to their sur
prise, no elephant or dogs
were to be seen. All had
become suddenly quiet at
that side, and it was very
evident, from the direction
in which their barking was heard, that
the dogs had gone towards the rear.
The fact is, there were three elephants
afoot, and the particular one which had
appeared repeatedly to the Duke and
his party had managed to elude the
dogs and conceal himself from view.
Mr. George Rex, the captain of the
hunt, now called to a boy at a little
distance, and told him to mount his
horse and ride to ascertain what was
going on in the rear. It is right, how
ever, here to remark, that Middle Erf
is intersected by a narrow road, each