THE INDIAN ELEPHANT 35 



myself thinking what a horrible place it was to 

 be caught in if the beast charged. Needless to 

 say, the great, muddy footprints were all I saw 

 of that elephant, and after following them for 

 about half a mile, I gave it up in disgust, and 

 regained the plain, there to find my tracker 

 looking rather ashamed of himself. He told 

 me he had once been caught by elephants, and 

 that was the reason he was so afraid of them 

 — a palpable fairy tale, since anyone who had 

 once got close enough to elephants to be chased 

 by them would certainly have recognised their 

 trumpet. It is, perhaps, hardly necessary to add 

 that I got no bison with this man either ; in fact, 

 I doubt whether he had ever before either seen 

 or heard wild elephants or bison. The quiet 

 disappearance of the herd was a revelation to me, 

 and one by which I have since profited. 



Elephants getting the scent of a human being 

 invariably announce the fact by a sharp scream, 

 which is instantly followed by a rush, as the 

 animal or the herd makes off. All animals appear 

 to fear the scent of man much more than the sight 

 of him. One may sometimes get up to a beast 

 after it has heard the approach, or even caught 

 a glimpse, of its pursuer, and has bolted. But 

 let the breeze bring but a whiff of the dreaded 

 taint to the sensitive nostrils, and the animal is 

 off for good. 



Tracking elephants is often difficult work. 



