ISO TUB LION. 



iij) on to his hind-quarters, and fixed his fangs into 

 the thick part of the tail. The poor animal per- 

 fectly screamed from the extreme torture, which 

 \vas little to be wondered at, as this unfortunate 

 appendage had only a week previously been cruelly 

 lacerated by a huge tiger. The elephant now 

 swayed to and fro to such a degree that the Major 

 had difficulty in retaining his seat in the howdah ; 

 and was much less able to take an accurate aim 

 at the lion, which indeed, screened as the beast 

 was by the protruding rump of the elephant, would 

 have been scarcely practicable. The Major, besides, 

 had only one barrel remaining, and it, therefore, 

 behoved him to bo most cautious that his last 

 charge was not ineffectually expended. 



" This trying scene continued for two or three 

 minutes, during which the Major anxiously looked 

 out for Captain Harris. But, unluckily, the Cap- 

 tain's elephant had been rendered unmanageable by 

 the maltreatment it had itself received from the 

 lion, and it was not, therefore, in the Captain's 

 power to render aid to his friend. 



" The appearance of the lion at this time, mad- 

 dened as he was with pain and rage, the Major 

 described as most awful. 



" At length the beast's long continued attacks on 

 the elephant caused the poor animal evidently to 

 giveaway, and to sink behind ; and, had the affair 

 continued a short time longer, there is no doubt 

 it would have been on its haunches, and the Major 

 at the mercy of the fierce assailant. 



" Finding matters in this very critical state, it 



