COLONEL NIGHTINGALES LETTER. . 217 



a double I had seized, into the brute's back. He let go 

 the trunk and bit the huttie high up on the left shoulder 

 very nearly sending me flying ; even in all this confusion, 

 tiger roaring, elephant trumpeting and niggers crying, I 

 shifted my gun, having pitched away the empty one. In 

 the meantime the infuriated demon of a Panura came under 

 the huttie and seized him by the elbow, biting him in 

 the joint high up and pulling him right over on his side. 

 I saw that in another second I should be on the ground, 

 and that it was bag or be bagged, so holding on like 

 grim death to the howdah with my left, I used the 

 gun as a pistol with my right hand, and putting the 

 muzzle close to the tiger rolled him over with a ball 

 between the shoulders. He rushed off with loud roars, 

 but gave the huttie a final cut in the hind leg as he went 

 by. The huttie rose and ran off trumpeting but stopped 

 after a little while : but fancy what had occurred, my 

 scoundrel of a mahout had not brought his ' hankoos ' 

 with him so had no command over the animal, who on 

 being told to kneel down became furious, tore up a tree, 

 pitched the mahout off on to the ground and ran off 

 frantically. Well, thought I, this is neat, going like the 

 wind on a mad huttie with no driver. I saw there was 

 but one chance (as I object to jumping off either horse 

 or huttie when run away with, as I always think I can 

 stop him), so unheeding the entreaties of my man in the 

 khowas, I clambered over the front of the howdah, and 

 seated myself on the huttie's neck and tried to drive him ; 

 unluckily I had no ' hankoos,' and though I tugged at 

 the brute's ears it was no use as you may fancy ; moreover,. 

 I found that my spurs were running into his neck and 



