174 SELF-DENIAL. 



beautifully bright and green after the storm. In front of the 

 camp, over the irregular line of tree-tops, rose the precipitous 

 slopes and buttresses of the outer-range Himalayas, some 

 three or four miles distant. Rearward, in like manner, the 

 low serrated ridge of the wooded Sewaliks cut the deep-blue 

 sky-line. We beat over some excellent-looking ground, but 

 returned in the evening with empty pads having agreed to 

 fire at no other game whilst there was a chance of finding a 

 striped jacket. 



For the two following days we roamed through jungle 

 and swamp without success, as far as tigers were concerned, 

 although deer, wild pigs, and feathered game were plentiful 

 enough. Sometimes a porcupine would hustle away among 

 the long grass, from under the very trunk of one of our 

 elephants, the sudden rustle of its quills causing the huge 

 beast to shriek and shy as much as, if not more than, if it had 

 trodden on a tiger's tail. The amount of self-denial I had 

 to exercise in refraining from pressing the trigger was often 

 very considerable, as my rifle was brought to bear on the 

 shoulder of some fine cheetal stag, whilst he stood to gaze 

 for a few moments at the elephants steadily forcing their 

 way through the tangled jungle, when his sleek dappled 

 coat and long tapering antlers would slowly disappear in the 

 thick cover, as though the animal knew he had nothing to fear. 



The manoeuvres of an elephant whilst slowly forging its 

 way through heavy jungle are quite an interesting study. 

 The control its mahout (driver) has over the huge but docile 

 animal is truly marvellous, as he verbally directs it here to 

 tear down a tough obstructive creeper, or a projecting bough, 

 with its trunk, there to fell with its forehead a good-sized 

 tree that may impede its course in the line, or to break away 

 some precipitous bank of a nullah (water-course) with its 

 fore-feet, to form a path for descending into it, and then, after 

 the same fashion, to clamber up the opposite side. And if 

 its driver should chance to drop his gujbag (iron goad) among 



