THE INDIAN ELEPHANT 5 



he was apt to lose his head, and I had eventually 

 to dispense with his services after he had twice 

 bolted during a stampede of elephants, in one 

 of which he was caught, narrowly escaping with 

 his life. He got off without a bone being broken, 

 the elephant fortunately contenting himself with 

 kicking him once between fore and hind legs, 

 and then leaving him. But it was over a month 

 before he could walk without the use of a stick. 

 This does not sound as if he had displayed any 

 courage, but, as a matter of fact, nothing could 

 be more plucky than the way in which on this, 

 and on many former occasions, he had crept 

 along unbidden at my heels, right into the 

 middle of a big herd of elephants in thick jungle, 

 armed only with an ordinary Martini-Henry 

 rifle, and sometimes not even with this. It was 

 only after the shot had been taken, and the 

 stampede in our direction had followed, that he 

 was seized with an unreasoning panic which he 

 was unable to overcome. It is only fair to add 

 that in his youth Allah Din had been caught by 

 a tiger which he had wounded, and which he 

 insisted on following up alone in long grass. 

 The tiger inflicted severe injuries, mauling him 

 badly, and biting his arm through to the bone, 

 breaking it in two places. Allah Din recovered 

 after a long spell in hospital, but this adventure 

 had doubtless shaken his nerve. I have entered 

 on this digression because Allah Din was, as you 

 will see, mainly responsible for my bagging this 



