A SERIOUS LOSS 



The unhappy elephant, however, had no such fortunate 

 escape. When raised to its feet it could hardly stand, and 

 appeared to be suffering great pain. 



The " jemadar," or head of the " mahouts," who is 

 also usually the " vet," after a careful examination, was of 

 opinion that it had received some severe internal injuries 

 likely to prove fatal in the end. There were no external 

 signs, save a few surface wounds caused by the tusks, the 

 sharp points of which had been sawn off a few days 

 before, hence none of the wounds were punctured ones. 



From the manner in which the animal moved, however, 

 it seemed evident it had been severely and structurally 

 injured, and was with the greatest difficulty taken to camp, 

 where it lingered for a few days, and eventually died in 

 great agony. 



Its loss was most serious, representing as it did several 

 hundreds in rupees ; but in tiger-shooting, serious accidents 

 are always liable to occur, and when they do, are often as 

 in the present case of a kind the least likely to take place. 



95 



