220 THE FORESTS OF UPPER INDIA 



to be beaten. Here the elephants become intensely 

 excited, and press forward with a peculiar nervous rush, 

 closer and closer together, in a steady phalanx, each how- 

 dah with the pads between. As yet no tiger has been 

 seen ; some hog-deer have scampered away, flying through 

 the close grass ; and the eager shikaris, standing in the 

 howdahs with rifle in hand, are intently watching the 

 covert beneath them. There are only a few yards left 

 of shorter grass scarcely long enough to conceal a cat. 

 Suddenly, and as if springing from the ground, three large 

 tigers dart with a fearful deep-sounding roar — ' hoohoo ' 

 — from the last patch. One is bowled over by a gun placed 

 as long-stop ; another, struck by several bullets, turns 

 with a lightning-like charge straight on to the head of 

 the nearest pad elephant ; the third, a great male tiger, 

 with the air of a monarch who has never been used to have 

 his will disputed, comes on with open mouth, and roars, 

 and dies facing his enemies, struck down by a storm of 

 bullets. The poor pad elephant, trumpeting and shaking 

 his head, dislodges his dangerous enemy, which slinks 

 back into the covert, wounded and infuriated. The line 

 is faced round, and the tiger followed up to some thorny 

 bushes. It is now that the elephants become unsteady, 

 and trumpet and turn round, as each time that they 

 advance to the bushes the tiger comes on with a roar and 

 a bound. Each time, however, his charge is so rapid and 

 the grass so tall that he scarcely gives a chance for a shot 

 before he skulks back again into his friendly shelter. 

 However, at last ' he ' succumbs to a weU-directed shot, 

 and turns out to be a very fine tigress. 



The shooting had been good, no tiger had escaped, and, 

 most important, the handohast (arrangements) had been 

 carried out to perfection and no mistakes made. Colonel 

 Ramsay would say that, if he gave his whole troop of 



