152 The Life of an Elephant 



with the cunning of his tribe, to avoid the 

 attacks of the winged torments of the forest. 

 When examination became possible, some 

 weeks after the infliction of this wound, the 

 bullet was found flattened at the base of the 

 spine, and externally there was no mark whatever 

 to be observed on his denuded hind-quarters. 

 In the same way, on more than one occasion 

 deer have been observed who, disappearing 

 with shattered hind-legs, have been shot weeks 

 after in their old haunts in excellent condition, 

 though a healed stump replaced what might 

 have been considered to have been a limb 

 almost necessary to their existence. From 

 wounds of the internal organs an animal will 

 rarely recover, but from those of trunk or limb 

 which do not prevent it from taking a share in 

 the life of the jungle, it will recover, provided 

 it is allowed to follow its instincts of concealment, 

 rest, and starvation. 



A narrow rivulet flowed sluggishly from 

 the hills between steep-cut banks of clay. 

 Along its borders were scattered willow trees, 

 and here and there it formed wide morasses 



