TIGERLAND 



prostrate animal, attempted to turn it over, actually 

 succeeding in raising it a few inches off the ground ! 



By this time, however, some of the larger and more 

 powerful elephants had been brought up, and these, 

 surrounding the infuriated beast, soon pounded it into a 

 comparatively harmless condition, which its " mahout " 

 took advantage of to regain his lost control. By a free 

 use of his sharp-pointed driving-iron, accompanied by 

 appalling threats of more terrible punishment to follow, he 

 ultimately reduced the animal to a state of absolute sub- 

 jection, and it was then marched off to the camp, escorted 

 by an elephant on each side of it. 



Unfortunately, during the commotion it had caused, 

 the tigers having evidently come to the conclusion that 

 this pandemonium was no place for them, had quietly 

 slipped out, and were now to be seen some half a mile 

 away making for the forest in the distance, where it would 

 have been useless to seek for them. 



In the meantime attempts were being made to raise 

 the fallen elephant to its feet, and eventually, with the 

 assistance of four or five others pushing with their heads, 

 and a tusker or two using their tusks as levers, this was 

 successfully accomplished. 



The " mahout," generally believed to have been crushed 

 to death as the animal fell over, was now discovered, lying 

 insensible in a grass-covered hollow, under the spot on 

 which the elephant had been lying. 



Judging from the nature of his injuries, he must either 

 have fallen with great violence or been grazed by the 

 elephant in its fall, for the whole of his face and left side 

 of the body was badly bruised and swollen up. 



However, he was sent off at once to camp and attended 

 by a native doctor belonging to a dispensary in a village 

 near the camp. When he recovered consciousness, he was 

 found to be partially paralysed, but after a few days' 

 treatment recovered completely, but was never able to 

 explain how he came by the injuries, nor could he describe 

 exactly what occurred when the elephant rolled over him. 

 He seemed, however, to realize fully that his escape from 

 death was little short of a miracle, and spent his next 

 month's pay in various offerings to his gods. 

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