172 THREE ELEPHANTS DROWNED. 



the other boats and elephants started half an hour later, and not finding 

 me, he plunged into the river instead of going in a boat as usual, evaded all 

 attempts to stop him, and swam down stream, running along the banks 

 where they admitted of it. We were floating quietly down with the 

 stream, looking for game, when a distant yapping attracted our attention, 

 and I saw a small object, from which the voice proceeded, coming down the 

 river. Tliis was Jooma's head as he swam. We waited for him, to his 

 great delight ; he had followed us for eight miles. I subsequently took him 

 round by Chittagong and Calcutta to Dacca, and thence to Mysore, where 

 he is now happy with my other dogs, a thousand miles from the land of 

 his birth. 



I reached Rungamuttea on the 24th February. The elephants had been 

 marched by land latterly, as the river was deep. The only incident that 

 occurred worthy of note was the drowning of one of our new elephants, 

 and two of our best tame females, near Rungamuttea. We had left the 

 Myanee above its junction with the Kurnafoolie, and were marching by 

 land, but owing to the lie of the country we had to cross the Kurnafoolie 

 occasionally. It was very deep, and the elephants had to swim. One 

 morning whilst crossing where it was about eighty yards wide and thirty 

 feet deep, in a gorge through a saddle in the hills, a tusker, which was 

 secured between two tame ones — one in advance of, and one behind him — 

 sank like a stone, probably from being seized with cramp from the coldness 

 of the water, and dragged the two females with him. Their mahouts tried 

 in vain to slash the ropes through : they had barely time to save themselves 

 by swimming. Anything more sudden or unexpected I never witnessed. 

 One elephant appeared again for a brief moment — at least about two feet 

 of her trunk did : she waved us a last farewell, when all was still, save 

 the air-bubbles which continued to rise for some time from the calm, deep 

 pool. Every one who witnessed it was shocked. The drivers of the ele- 

 phants yet to cross hesitated ; we could not but believe the unfortunate 

 beasts would come up again. Their mahouts sat down and cried like 

 children over the loss of the faithful beasts they had tended for years. 



Elephants are such excellent swimmers that I cannot understand how 

 it was that the two tame ones were unable to gain the shore, which was 

 only thirty yards distant, by towing the drowning wild one. When they 

 floated we found that they were in no way entangled ; and it was not 

 owing to snags catching the ropes, nor to any under-current, that they were 

 drawn down. One of the tame ones — Geraldiue — was a great favourite of 

 mine, and she and the other were worth £300 each. The tusker was 

 worth £600, so the money loss to Government was considerable. 



