AX EXPLOEATIOX IN THE FAR EAST. 429 



wild buffalo bull, as compared with the tame species. 

 He stood leaning on his tusks against the bank, gently 

 swaying his tail about, and seemingly half asleep. 

 There was no way of getting nearer him than about 

 a hundred and fifty yards — much too far to shoot at an 

 elephant ; and I sat long watching him in the hope 

 that he would move, but he didn't. Then I went 

 and found the road he had taken down the steep bank 

 of the river, and posted myself behind it, sending a 

 Bhumia round a long way to give him his wind. It 

 was interesting to see the elephant when he caught 

 the first whiff of the savage. He still stood leaning 

 on his tusks, but his tail ceased to sway, and the point 

 of his trunk was curled round below his ear in the 

 direction of the scent, while his ears stood cocked to 

 catch the faintest sound. Long he stood thus, perfectly 

 motionless. The Bhumia soon got more directly to 

 windward, though still unseen by the elephant, and got 

 up a tree. Those wild creatures had a wholesome dread 

 of this jungle deity of theirs, it seemed. Then the 

 elephant gently walked out of his hole, and never a 

 look did he take towards the foe ; slowly and heavily 

 making for another pass up the bank a couple of 

 hundred yards from where I was. I stole along through 

 the grass as near this point as I could without coming 

 into his view, and again sat down by an elephant path 

 up which I hoped he would come. And I was not 

 mistaken, for after a breathless pause of a minute or 

 so, his great solemn forehead and gleaming tusks ap- 

 peared, waving to and fro as he moved, and within 

 eighty or ninety paces of my post. I felt sure of him 

 with my big rifle if he came along the path, and 

 determined not to fire till he was quite close. About 

 forty yards only now intervened between us, and I 



