158 The Life of an Elephant 



riders, one of whom was in the fall thrown 

 violently forward, and found himself lying on 

 the further edge of a chasm in which his com- 

 panions had disappeared. And it was fortunate 

 that this was so, and that by the aid of a 

 rope hastily thrown he was able to rescue his 

 fellow-man from the rage of the imprisoned 

 elephant. 



The animal stood firmly wedged in between 

 the narrow walls of his prison, but already he 

 had commenced to dig with tusks and fore feet 

 in the endeavour to make a way to freedom. It 

 was a task which might in hours or days have 

 been accomplished without assistance had the 

 earth been of a soft and yielding nature. But 

 here the hard clay rendered the attempt almost 

 hopeless. At length the elephant became 

 calmer, and was willing to listen to the exhor- 

 tations of his mahout, who sat on the edge of 

 the pit and spoke soothingly to him, who 

 offered him dainties of leaves and jungle fruit, 

 nor left him till many men appeared on the 

 scene with axes and shovels. Then from all 

 sides, earth, brushwood, bundles of grass were 



