CREATURES OF THE WILDERNESS 71 



diagram, is to empty the contents of his rifle 

 all over the elephant's surface and to send it 

 off screaming. There is not much time to 

 lose, for if the wounded brute does not hurry 

 out of range it will charge in the opposite 

 direction, in which case the sportsman usually 

 moves off the scene without further delibera- 

 tion. A charging elephant comes on at a 

 surprising pace, trunk curled high in the air, 

 little eyes gleaming, great ears flapping, alto- 

 gether a tremendous picture of rage and 

 strength. The obstinate bravery of elephants 

 fighting against odds is never more grandly or 

 more pathetically illustrated than in their not 

 infrequent encounters with railway trains. The 

 fate of "Jumbo," who met his death in this 

 way at a time when his weight exceeded six 

 tons, will long be remembered in England, 

 where he had been made the hero of somewhat 

 hysterical sentiment on the occasion of his sale 

 to an American showman. 



Collisions of the sort between trains and 

 elephants are not uncommon in India, and in 

 the Malay Peninsula they were at one time 

 of constant occurrence. On one occasion, the 

 driver of a goods train, seeing a big tusker on 

 the line ahead, first slowed down and then 

 stopped his train altogether. Even this defer- 

 ence to his majesty did not satisfy the elephant, 

 which at once charged the engine, dashing at 



