TRAINED ELEPHANTS AND MAHOUTS ESSENTIAL. 103 



In this instance, the tiger, a large and powerful male, three 

 or four times fired at, and at least twice severely wounded, 

 as the sequel proved, twice broke the line of elephants, and 

 then bolted clean off, just when he ought, according to the rule 

 before quoted, to have fought and died gallantly. Perhaps 

 the exception proves the rule in this as in other matters. 



That beast disturbed my peace of mind till news of his 

 death was brought to our camp, when we were far from the 

 scene of our discomfiture. Of course, we ought to have 

 padded him, and in nine out of ten similar cases we certainly 

 should have done so ; but in this instance our failure arose from 

 my shots being a little too far behind in the first instance, and 

 from E-.'s aim being disturbed by the conduct of the elephants 

 on the right flank when the tiger made his second charge at and 

 through them. Briefly this fine animal was lost to us by the 

 delay in pushing on rapidly after him when K. fired at his 

 breast over the top of the grass, and seemingly dropped 

 him dead. 



There is nothing more vexatious or irritating than such 

 unseasonable misconduct on the part of a few elephants, which 

 may, and often does, create a panic among the remainder, how- 

 ever staunch on ordinary occasions ; and the best only can resist 

 the inclination to scream, trumpet, bolt, or club together, the 

 drivers themselves frequently becoming as demoralized as the 

 animals they bestride, and adding to the uproar their own 

 senseless cries and shouts. It is only by the experience of a 

 few such incidents, that one learns to know the true value of 

 one's elephants and " mahouts." Should any elephant be 

 known to be a notorious coward and many of those belonging 

 to the native landholders are such, from rarely being used for 

 sporting purposes it is far better to use it to collect fodder in 

 camp, than to run the chance of its communicating to others 

 its timidity and unsteadiness. In many instances, the drivers 

 are at least as much to blame as their charges ; and this class 

 of men, being much addicted to the use of opium, are not 

 seldom arrant cowards, who after three or four hours spent 

 in beating dense or thorny coverts during a hot day, lose all 



