{"id":146,"date":"2025-05-22T16:52:53","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/word\/?p=146"},"modified":"2025-05-22T16:52:53","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:52:53","slug":"in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/","title":{"rendered":"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following. I had taken a fresh rifle, with both barrels loaded, and hardly had I made the exchange when the elephant turned suddenly and charged. Determined to try fairly the forehead-shot, I kept my ground, and fired a Reilly No. 10, quicksilver and lead bullet, exactly in the centre, when certainly within four yards. The only effect was to make her stagger backward, when, in another moment, with her immense ears thrown forward, she again rushed on. This was touch-and-go; but I fired my remaining barrel a little lower than the first shot. Checked in her rush, she backed toward the dense jungle, throwing her trunk about and trumpeting with rage. Snatching the Ceylon No. 10 from one of my trusty Tokrooris (Hassan), I ran straight at her, took a most deliberate aim at the forehead, and once more fired. The only effect was a decisive charge; but before I fired my last barrel Jali rushed in, and, with one blow of his sharp sword, severed the back sinew. She was utterly helpless in the same instant. Bravo, Jali! I had fired three beautifully correct shots with No. 10 bullets and seven drams of powder in each charge. These were so nearly together that they occupied a space in her forehead of about three inches, and all had failed to kill! There could no longer be any doubt that the forehead-shot at an African elephant could not be relied upon, although so fatal to the Indian species. This increased the danger tenfold, as in Ceylon I had generally made certain of an elephant by steadily waiting until it was close upon me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following. I had taken a fresh rifle, with both barrels loaded, and hardly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[4],"yoast_head":"\nIn a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following - Samuel White Baker<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following - Samuel White Baker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following. I had taken a fresh rifle, with both barrels loaded, and hardly…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Samuel White Baker\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T15:52:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"melyn\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/\",\"name\":\"Samuel White Baker\",\"description\":\"Victorian explorer & hunter\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/\",\"name\":\"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following - Samuel White Baker\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-22T15:52:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-22T15:52:53+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#\/schema\/person\/a0c53db4ae65115a8eace8ce7c655de3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#\/schema\/person\/a0c53db4ae65115a8eace8ce7c655de3\",\"name\":\"melyn\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aab291c1a5e95ed98dafe92ceaef8653?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aab291c1a5e95ed98dafe92ceaef8653?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"melyn\"},\"url\":\"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/author\/melyn\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following - Samuel White Baker","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following - Samuel White Baker","og_description":"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following. I had taken a fresh rifle, with both barrels loaded, and hardly…","og_url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/","og_site_name":"Samuel White Baker","article_published_time":"2025-05-22T15:52:53+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"melyn","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#website","url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/","name":"Samuel White Baker","description":"Victorian explorer & hunter","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/#webpage","url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/","name":"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following - Samuel White Baker","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-05-22T15:52:53+00:00","dateModified":"2025-05-22T15:52:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#\/schema\/person\/a0c53db4ae65115a8eace8ce7c655de3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-moments-we-found-ourselves-in-a-small-open-glade-in-the-middle-of-the-jungle-close-to-the-stern-of-the-elephant-we-were-following\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"In a few moments we found ourselves in a small open glade in the middle of the jungle, close to the stern of the elephant we were following"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#\/schema\/person\/a0c53db4ae65115a8eace8ce7c655de3","name":"melyn","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aab291c1a5e95ed98dafe92ceaef8653?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"http:\/\/1.gravatar.com\/avatar\/aab291c1a5e95ed98dafe92ceaef8653?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"melyn"},"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/author\/melyn\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6bvCl-2m","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":147,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/i-now-reloaded-my-rifles-and-the-aggageers-quitted-the-jungle-to-remount-their-horses-as-they-expected-the-herd-had-broken-cover-on-the-other-side-of-the-jungle-in-which-case-they-intended-to-give\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":0},"title":"I now reloaded my rifles, and the aggageers quitted the jungle to remount their horses, as they expected the herd had broken cover on the other side of the jungle, in which case they intended to give chase, and, if possible, to turn them back into the covert and drive them toward the guns","date":"October 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I now reloaded my rifles, and the aggageers quitted the jungle to remount their horses, as they expected the herd had broken cover on the other side of the jungle, in which case they intended to give chase, and, if possible, to turn them back into the covert and drive\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":116,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/i-seized-one-of-my-double-rifles-a-reilly-no\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":1},"title":"I seized one of my double rifles, a Reilly No","date":"April 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"I seized one of my double rifles, a Reilly No. 10, that was quickly pushed into my hand by my Tokroori, Hadji Ali. This was done just in time, as an elephant from the battled herd turned sharp round, and, with its immense ears cocked, charged down upon us with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":191,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/the-whole-day-passed-fruitlessly\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":2},"title":"The whole day passed fruitlessly","date":"October 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The whole day passed fruitlessly. I had crept through the thickest thorns in vain; having abundance of meat, I had refused the most tempting shots at buffaloes and large antelopes, as I had devoted myself exclusively to lions. I was much disappointed, as the evening had arrived without a shot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":142,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/i-led-the-way-followed-by-hadji-ali-my-head-tokroori-with-a-rifle\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":3},"title":"I led the way, followed by Hadji Ali, my head Tokroori, with a rifle","date":"May 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Accordingly I led the way, followed by Hadji Ali, my head Tokroori, with a rifle, while I carried the \"Baby.\" Florian accompanied us. Having the wind fair, we advanced quickly for about half the distance, at which time we were within a hundred and fifty yards of the elephant, who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":149,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-a-few-minutes-the-aggageers-arrived\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":4},"title":"In a few minutes the aggageers arrived","date":"September 6, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In a few minutes the aggageers arrived. They were bleeding from countless scratches, as, although naked with the exception of short drawers, they had forced their way on horseback through the thorny path cleft by the herd in rushing through the jungle. Abou Do had blood upon his sword. They\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":145,"url":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/in-about-a-quarter-of-an-hour-we-knew-by-the-noise-in-the-jungle-about-a-hundred-yards-from-the-river-that-the-elephants-were-directly-opposite-to-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":146,"position":5},"title":"In about a quarter of an hour we knew by the noise in the jungle, about a hundred yards from the river, that the elephants were directly opposite to us","date":"June 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"In about a quarter of an hour we knew by the noise in the jungle, about a hundred yards from the river, that the elephants were directly opposite to us. I accordingly instructed Jali to creep quietly by himself into the bush and to bring me information of their position.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Nile"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.aberth.com\/samuelwhitebaker\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}