Show l I I ADVENTURERS' ADVENTURERS CLUB T t HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF I Elephant Hunt HUllt in ill in West Vest est Virginia By FLOYD GIBBONS Famous amous Headline Hunter f ELLO EVERYBODY HELLO H And all the courtesies of this Adventurers' Adventurers club to Bring em Back Alive James Brogan of Tompkinsville S. S I. I N. N Y for his knockout animal adventure today Jimmy Brogan didn't really do a Frank Buck in this story story story-at at least he didn't mean to but to-but but by golly he did bring himself back alive and boys and girls when youve you've read Jimmys Jimmy's experience you'll agree that that's something How Dow would you like to be out pheasant hunting huntin with a little two twenty rifle and all of ot a sudden run smack Into a t treat great reat big bl but big but but lets let's start this story at the beginning Back in the 28 the year before the Great Depression Depression Timmy Jimmy and a pal pat of ot his went hunting pheasants In a wood adjacent to a farm fann of Jimmys Jimmy's uncle in West Virginia The boys were having a swell time They had their lunch with them and had bagged a couple of ot the birds and as as a's the sun started to set started back home in great spirits Jimmy says It was great fun walking through the dense woods and pretending to stalk big game In their imaginations the hunters were through the jungle of Africa the Africa the shadow of every tree seemed to hide a tiger or a lion or even an elephant Of Ot course you wouldn't have much chance with a two twenty against an elephant but it was fun anyway and besides who vho ever heard of an elephant in West Virginia Jimmy says he was creeping along Indian fashion when he heard a crashing behind him then him then his hunting companion let out a scream of ot terror Jimmy thought it was part of the game game game-a a war cry cry but but when he looked around he let out a scream and nearly dropped his trusty rifle in terror A MONSTER ELEPHANT WAS CHARGING STRAIGHT FOR FORTHE FORTHE THE TOE BOYS Well sir Jimmy says fays he couldn't believe his eyes He knew that the human mind can play strange tricks on a fellow but he knew that this was no trick of the imagination The elephant was there In flesh and blood and as he came tearing through the underbrush underbrush gigantic gigantic ears flapping and bellowing with rage Jimmy decided that discretion was the better part of valor and ran for tor his hia life Climb a big treel tree I he yelled to his pal Jimmy says his pal did climb a tree tree dropped dropped his rifle and went up up up- up the trunk like a monkey and this gave Jimmy a chance to think He Heran Heran Heran ran for tor the thickest part of or the wood wood thinking thinking the elephant would i Jimmy Fired at the Elephants Elephant's Head lead have a hard time following him him and and looked back There was his pal safely out of reach of that long trunk but the boys had not figured on the keen intelligence of the elephant who elephant who is one of the smartest as well as the largest of beasts Jimmy saw the huge monster stop under the tree tree and look up Then the next thing the animal did made Jimmy raise his futile little rifle to his shoulder That elephant calmly took hold of the tree with his powerful trunk and shook it as a man would shake an apple tree The tree swayed and shuddered under tons of ot weight weight Jimmy Jimmy was sure no man could hold on under such a shaking shaking shaking-Jimmy's Jimmy's Jimmys pal was all nil wrapped around the branches but it looked as though he would come tumbling down any second and be stamped to death beneath those huge feet Jimmy did the only thing he could do to help his pal he pal he fired straight at the elephants elephant's head It was an easy shot Jimmy says the target target was so big And he thinks the shot soot went true because the elephant let let go of the tree and with a challenging bellow came charging straight at Jimmy Jimmy says fear must have lent wings to his feet that minute be be- because because because cause he turned and ran like a deer He dodged in and out of trees and kept as much as possible in the thickest part of the woods He could hear the infuriated beast behind him as he snapped trees in two and and- crashed into larger ones Undoubtedly Jimmys Jimmy's strategy in keeping to the densest growth saved his life But Jimmy says he was tiring fast and his heart was beating like a Just as lie be thought ho lie must fall faU from exhaustion he came on ona j. j r ra a farmhouse in a clearing lie He screamed a warning and burst In Inthe inthe the door of or the house The farmer thought Jimmy was crazy when he cried out elephant but a n few seconds later the man changed his mind 1 Wham Mr Elephant hit that door and shattered It as though Iti It were paper But the door was too small to admit his huge bulk Insane Insano with fury now because he had lost his prey the beast started in to I i wreck the farm Each time he charged the house Jimmy says it felt like an earthquake But the house was strong and although badly dam dam- damaged damaged damaged aged did not collapse Baffled the the beast smashed up the barn stamped the life out of chickens and killed two dogs who bravely snapped at him The farm had no telephone and Jimmy or the farmer did not dare leave the house for help But help came and plenty of it A small army anny of circus employees led employees led by Jimmys Jimmy's pal pal and and armed with heavy rifles closed in and a volley of big caliber lead ended his I man-killing man days das 1 1 Then Jimmy learned why he hod had encountered a wild elephant In Inthe Inthe inthe the woods of West Virginia The circus animal had suddenly gone berserk berserk berserk-as as elephants in captivity sometimes do killed do-killed killed his trainer and escaped The rest we know then but the paying for dam dam- damages damages damages Well boys and girls it was all over ages and the circus soon did this and they gave Jimmy and his pal pat 50 v for their part in the capture I O Service |