BHEEMRUTTEE. 311 



The only stanch elephant was old Bheemnittee, which I was riding. I 

 had no howdah, but was mounted on her pad. I had my heavy 8 -bore and 

 express, and tucking my legs under the ropes, her mahout and I pushed her 

 into the thick thorns. Tliis was certainly a very unsafe way of looking up 

 a wounded tiger, but there was no help for it. None of the other elephants 

 could be got in ; they were Commissariat animals, and were more accus- 

 tomed to carrying tents and baggage than to this kind of thing. They 

 were now engaged in skirmishing with Tinker, a white terrier I had, a very 

 good dog at finding game ; but whenever he appeared on the scene, anxi- 

 ous to do something, he was received with such rapping of trunks, grum- 

 blings, trumpetings, and short charges, that he was driven almost wild. The 

 elephants evidently connected the whole disturbance and sense of danger 

 with his presence, and kept a sharp look-out on him in consequence. After 

 being subjected to small showers of earth and pebbles kicked at him witli 

 unerring aim, and other demonstrations, the unhappy dog was reduced to 

 such a state that he went and sat in the same bush with the tiger ! 



Wlien we were within about ten yards of the wounded brute he charged 

 from the front with a loud coughing roar. Bheemruttee did not budge an 

 inch. In another step he would have been visible, and would have had both 

 barrels, but his heart failed and he drew back, growling threateningly. The 

 cover was so matted at four or five feet from the ground that he could not 

 have sprung upon the elephant, but might have seized her legs, though 

 Bheemruttee would doubtless have given him a warm reception. I coidd 

 not see him as he charged, though he came within five yards. 



We pushed on step by step. When a tiger once gives way he seldom 

 makes a home charge afterwards, and in this instance he did not face us 

 again, but jumped into the channel and got into a small cover between it 

 and the river. 



Crossing the channel with the elephants, I took up my post in a tree 

 nearly at the end of the cover. There was only one thicket behind me, 

 and then open jungle ; the jungle he was in was about two acres in extent. 

 The elephants beat up to me, but the tiger could not be found. I fancied I 

 had heard a slight movement in the solitary thicket behind me during the 

 beat, and a low whistle from one of the stops in a tree in the open beyond 

 now attracted my attention. I called up Bheemruttee and was just get- 

 ting on to her, when with the usual short roars out the tiger came, and back 

 through amongst the elephants. One of the trackers, who was on foot along- 

 side an elephant, threw his cudgel at the tiger as he passed and got some 

 blood on it, at which he was much pleased. I was in an awkward i)Osition, 

 but wounded him slightly with one barrel. I had climbed the tree from 



