A MAD ELEPHANT. 167 



they scented the air, and knew there was danger for 

 themselves if they approached the raving brute. 

 The trees were too far off to permit of a good shot 

 at him from among the branches, and the only 

 place that appeared at all likely to give a chance was 

 at the great drop gate. T- , taking one of the 

 oldest native shikaris with him, made for this point 

 of vantage and waited patiently the approach of 

 the mad elephant, which was going round the en- 

 closure turning over the bodies of those it had killed 

 and stamping out what remained of life in those that 

 had escaped his first furious onset. Aiming as best 

 he could, T - fired, and shouted to the shikari to 

 escape through a narrow postern in the palisading 

 making the avenue which led to the gate, as he saw 

 that his shot had failed and the raging brute was 

 charging down on them. The native seemed para- 

 lysed with terror, or believed in the strength of the 

 gate, and would not move. T- - barely escaped 

 through the opening, when crash went the strong 

 timbers of the gate like matchwood before the 

 terrible impact. The white clothing of the shikari 

 caught the elephant's eye. In a moment his trunk 

 was round the unfortunate man, and placing a 

 foot on one leg and seizing the other in its trunk it 

 simply tore the poor wretch in two and threw 

 the pieces high into the air. With a demoniac 

 trumpet it then charged down the avenue, and 

 was away to the hills before the horrified spec- 

 tators could fairly grasp what had occurred. 



The morning showed a dreadful sight within the 

 kheddah. The earth, sodden with the blood of the 



