ELEPHANT MUKNA. 163 



ceeded in making the savages have some respect for me. 

 Sometime after this occurrence, I had been teasing him 

 after feeding him; some ryots (farmers) came up to 

 speak to me about some lands ; I turned my back on 

 the elephant, (he was tied up, and could not reach me). 

 Soon after I got a stunning blow, and thought the ryots 

 made an attack on me. As soon as I recovered, I 

 turned round on my supposed assailants, when, to my 

 surprise, I found Mukna had taken up a long piece of 

 bamboo, and whirled it round with his proboscis, arid 

 struck me along the side of the head. He seemed to be 

 quite delighted, and carefully laid his bamboo along side 

 of him, and when I attempted to approach, he laid his 

 proboscis on it, as much as to say, here it is. One day 

 while I was travelling over some rugged hills, 150 to 

 300 feet high, a large tree fell across the pathway ; Mukna 

 got across it at his ease ; he was the largest elephant in 

 the country. However, when his companion came to it, 

 she managed to get the fore legs over, but her hind ones 

 she could not raise, nor could she raise the fore legs to 

 go back. She was in despair of working herself out of 

 the predicament, and trumpeted ; Mukna at once turned 

 back, and at my desire the driver left him to himself. 

 He got over the tree again, placed his head to the rump 

 of his companion, and raised her hind part over the trunk 

 of the tree. After many and faithful services, and nar 

 row escapes, poor Mukna was poisoned by the Tartars. 

 I let him loose one morning after feeding him ; a 

 while afterwards he returned to the house, and came 

 to the door and gave a low trumpet ; I went out, and he 

 walked up quietly to me ; I laid my hand on his head, I 

 could not make out what was amiss with him. He laid 



