292 THE TRAIL OF THE TIGER 



sometimes as much as one hundred yards apart, 

 according to the country— other elephants bearing 

 only a pad and their mahouts, beat the jungle 

 towards the sportsmen in the howdahs. The chief 

 excitement in this kind of hunting centres around 

 the question of who will get the tiger, for in a 

 country possible to such extended drives, there is 

 no certainty as to the precise point the beast will 

 break cover, and getting a shot is therefore a mat- 

 ter of individual luck. Sometimes, when the tiger 

 does not break cover, the howdah-bearing elephants 

 close in upon the piece of jungle in which the 

 quarry lies concealed, and then there is more 

 " doing " and some fun. But for the most part, 

 standing on the back of an elephant inside a how- 

 dah behind an armory of guns, is not particularly 

 stirring and does not appeal to the sportsman who 

 has ever experienced the thrill of stalking. 



Shooting rhinoceros from a howdah, however, 

 if not more dangerous, at least averages higher in 

 diversion, because in close cover elephants hold a 

 rhino always in great respect and frequently in 

 much fear on account of its obstinate advance and 

 well understood tendency to gore legs and stomachs 

 that obstruct its path. Therefore a rhino in long 

 grass at close quarters means a good bit of scur- 

 rying around and at times it means a run-away by 

 an elephant that has become panic-stricken at the 



