THE TERROR OF HUNSUR. 45 



if we cared to go after it, soon determined our 

 movements. The native shikaris were summoned, 

 and after much consultation we shifted camp 

 to Karkankotee, a smaller village in the State 

 forest of that name, and on the high road to 

 Manantoddy. The travellers' bungalow .there, a 

 second-class one, was deserted by its usual native 

 attendants, as the rogue - elephant had paid 

 two visits to that place and had pulled down a 

 portion of the out-offices in his attempts to get at 

 the servants. In the village we found only a 

 family of Kurambas left in charge by the Potail 

 (village magistrate) when the inhabitants deserted 

 it. These people, we found, had erected for them- 

 selves a machan (platform) on the trees, to which 

 they retired at night to be out of the reach of the 

 elephant, should he come that way. From them 

 we learned that the rogue had not been seen for a 

 week, but that it was about his time to come that 

 way, as he had a practice of making a complete 

 circuit of the country lying between the frontier 

 and the Manantoddy-Mysore and Hunsur-Mercara 

 roads. This was good news, so we set to work 

 at once, getting ammunition ready for this the 

 largest of all game. Nothing less than eight drams 

 of powder and a hardened solid ball would content 

 most of us. K , poor fellow, had been reading 

 up " Smooth-bore " or some other authority on 

 Indian game, and pinned his faith to a twelve- 

 bore duck gun, " for," he argued, " at twenty 

 paces " and that was the maximum distance from 

 which to shoot at an elephant " the smooth-bore 



