130 DIVISION I. VERTEBKAL ANIMALS. — CLASS I. MAJIMALLV. 



clcpliants nre en,L;ai;e(l in tlieia. The courai^c, sagacity, coolness, and espe- 

 cially the ureal strength of the elephant, make liiiii a powerful aiixiliar in 

 this jjerilous anntsement. Captain ]\IunJay has given a line account of one 

 oi' these hunts in his "(Sketches." 



"\\'e found innncnsc quantities of game, — wild-hogs, liog-decr, and the 

 iieil-ghie (literally, l)/i(e-coir). We, however, strictly aljstained from firing, 

 reser\ing our whole Ijattery for the nohlcr game, tlie tiger. It, was, per- 

 haps, fcirtunate that avc did not find one in the thick part of the forest, as 

 the ti'ces were so close set, and so interwoven with thorns and parasitic 

 plants, that the elephants were ol'teii ohligcd to clear for themselves a. pas- 

 sage by their own pi'essing exertions. It is curious on these occasions to 

 see the enoianoiis trees these animals will ovcrtlirow. On a woi-d i'rom 

 the mahout, they place their foreheads against the obnoxious plants, t^vist- 

 ing their tiamks round it, and gradually bending it towards tlie ground, 

 until llie>' can ])lace a foot u[)on it. This done, down comes the tree, with 

 crashing stem and upturned roots. The elephant must be well educated to 

 acconipli,-li this duty in a gentleman-like manner ; that is, without roaring 

 sulkiK', or shaking his master by too ^•iolent exertions. ''On clearing the 

 wood, we entered an open space of marshy grass, not three feet high. A 

 large herd of cattle were feeding there, and the herdsman was sitting sing- 

 ing nndcr a bush, when, just as the ibrmer began to move before us, up 

 sprang the very tiger to whom our visit was intended, and cantered off 

 across a bare plain, dotted with small patches of busb-jungle. He took to 

 the open country, in a st\le which would have more become a fox than a 

 tiger, who is expected by his pursuers to fight and not to run ; and as he 

 was Hushed on tiie fiank of the line, only one bidlet was fired at him ere he 

 cleared the thick grass. lie was mduu't, and we pursued him at full speed. 

 Twice he threw us out by stopping short in small stripes of jungle, and then 

 heading back after we had passed ; and he had given us a very fast trot of 

 about two miles, when Colonel Arnold, who led the field, at last reached 

 him bv a capital shot, his elephant being in full career. As soon as he felt 

 himself wounded, the tiger crept into a close thicket of trees and bushes, 

 and crouched. The two leading sportsmen overran the spot where he lay ; 

 and as I came up, I saw him, through an aperture, rising to attempt a 

 charge. IMy mahout had just liefore, in the heat of the chase, dropped iiis 

 ankors or goad, which I had refused to allow him to recover ; and tiie ele- 

 phant, being notoriously savage, and further irritated bj- the goading he 

 had undergone, became consequently unmanagealjle. lie appeared to see 

 the tiger as soon as myself, and I had (jidy time to fire one shot, when he 

 suddenly rushed with the greatest fury into the thicket, and fidling upon 

 his knees, nailed the tiger with his tusks to the ground. Such was the 



