OF WILD ANIMALS 309 



is not vicious save under one peculiar combination of circum- 

 stances. Take her outside her yard, and instantly she becomes 

 a storm centre. Gunda was bad to begin with, worse in con- 

 tinuation and murderously worst at his finish. At present 

 Kartoum is dangerous only to inanimate fences and doors. 



A wild elephant attacks a hunter by charging furiously and 

 persistently, sometimes making a real man-chase, seizing the 

 man or knocking him down, and then impaling him upon 

 his tusks as he lies. More than one hunter has been knocked 

 down, and escaped the impalement thrust only through the 

 mercy of heaven that caused the tusks to miss him and expend 

 their murderous fury in the ample earth. 



On rare occasions an enraged wild elephant deliberately 

 tramples a man to death; and there is one instance on record 

 wherein the elephant held his dead native victim firmly to 

 the ground while he tore him asimder "and actually jerked 

 his arms and legs to some distance." 



In captivity a mean elephant kills a keeper, or other person, 

 by suddenly knocking him down, and then either trampling 

 upon him or impaling him. 



Gunda, our big male Indian tusker, was the worst elephant 

 with which I ever came in close touch, and we hope never to 

 see his like again. When about ten years old he came to us 

 direct from Assam, and when I saw his big and bulging eyes, 

 and the slits torn in his ears, I recognized him as a bad-tempered 

 animal. I kept my opinions to myself. Two weeks later when 

 we started Gunda's Hindu keeper back toward his native land, 

 I sent for Keepers Gleason and Forester to give them a choice 

 lot of instruction in elephant management. They heard me 

 through attentively, and then Forester said very solemnly: 



"Director, I think that is a bad elephant; and I'm afraid 

 ofhun!" 



Keeper Gleason willingly took him over, on condition that 

 he should have sole charge of him, and as long as Gleason 

 remained in our service he managed the elephant successfully. 



