248 The Hunting Grounds 



CHAPTER XVI. 



ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN THE FOREST AROUND THE 

 BASE OF THE NEILGHERRIES. 



Trampling his path through wood and brake, 



And canes which, crackling, fall before his way, 



And tassel-grass, whose silvery feathers play, 



Overlapping the young trees, 



On comes the elephant to slake 



His thirst at noon in yon pellucid spring." 



The elephant-hunter's qualifications, "Mighty Hunters." The 

 start. The Coonoor Pass. The trail. Signs of a tusker. 

 The herd. A bull-elephant dies. A cow and calf fall. 

 The bivouac. 



A NY sportsman who is a fair shot, cool, steady, 

 *-*- persevering, and active, may count upon kill- 

 ing heavy bags of most kinds of game with tolerable 

 certainty ; but he who would slay the elephant in his 

 trackless jungle-home must have other qualities com- 

 bined, or he will fail in his attempt. 



The elephant-hunter must have a thorough know- 



