46 Wild Beasts 



their danger, and I regret to say that one poor man was torn limb from 

 limb, a child trodden to death, and two women hurt. Their destruc- 

 tion now became absolutely necessary, and as they showed no dispo- 

 sition to quit the village where their mischief had been done, we 

 had time to bring up the four-pound pieces of artillery [these events 

 took place in 1809] from which they received several rounds, both 

 ball and abundance of grape. The larger of the two was soon brought 

 to the ground by a round shot in the head ; but after remaining there 

 about a quarter of an hour, apparently lifeless, he got up again as 

 vigorous as ever, and the desperation of both at this period exceeds all 

 description. They made repeated charges on the guns, and if it had 

 not been for the uncommon bravery and steadiness of the artillery- 

 men, who more than once turned them off with shots in the head and 

 body when within a very few paces of them, many dreadful casualties 

 must have occurred. We were obliged to desist for want of ammuni- 

 tion, and before a fresh supply could be obtained, the animals quitted 

 the village, and though streaming with blood from a hundred wounds, 

 proceeded with a rapidity I had no idea of towards Hazarebaugh. They 

 were at length brought up by the horsemen and our elephants, within 

 a short distance of a crowded bazaar, and ultimately, after many re- 

 newals of most formidable and ferocious attacks on the guns, gave up 

 the contest with their lives. 



The western half of those central Indian highlands 

 called locally the Mykal, Mahadeo, and Satpura hills, is 

 a famous haunt for elephants. In this wild birthplace of the 

 streams that pour themselves into the Bay of Bengal and 

 the Arabian Gulf, these creatures wander in comparative 

 security. The Gond, K61, and Santal aborigines furnish 

 the best trackers extant, except, perhaps, those myste- 

 rious Byga or Bhumia, whose knowledge of woodcraft is 

 unequalled. These small, dark, silent men have no sort 

 of respect for an elephant's mind or character, but they 

 worship it from fear ; they adore the animal because they 

 know enough of its disposition to be always apprehensive 

 of its doing more than it generally does. 



