A PERILOUS SITUATION. 313 



a man of us had escaped to tell the tale. Fortunately, 

 the dogs, which they seemed to think designed the eap- 

 ture of their calves, engrossed their whole attention ; 

 whereas, by reason of the color of the horses on which 

 we rode, they took us for gregarious creatures like them- 

 selves,fand actually grazing our animals' haunches with 

 their legs, they left us scatheless and pursued the dogs. 

 I seldom remember a more startling or dangerous po- 

 sition ; it was a decided case of " De'il tak the hin'- 

 most." Spurs and jamboks were energetically plied ; 

 there was.no time to select a path. Placing my head 

 below my horse's neck and trusting to Providence, I 

 charged through the thickest of the thorns, and pres- 

 ently found myself out of the way of the elephants. 1 

 know nothing which so effectually teaches a hunter the 

 art of riding through "Vacht um bige," or "wait-a- 

 bit" jungle, in an artistioal manner, as hearing the 

 trumpet of an enraged elephant, which is following about 

 a spear's length in his wake. After a few such lessons 

 he will have learned to bring his breast in contact with 

 the side of his horse's neck, his head being well under 

 it, whereby his prominent feature will be secured, and, 

 agitating his persuaders, he will dive through the most 

 impracticable " wait-a-bits" with apparently the facil- 

 ity with which an Eton boy takes a header into the 

 Thames at the Lion's Leap. 



With very great difficulty, we got clear of the cover 

 and gained the level forest on the lower side. ;^this 

 time the natives had lined the side of the mountain 

 above the cover, and were shouting and yelling in the 

 hope of driving out the elephants ; but not a man would 

 venture in. Presently some of them came round to me, 

 and I proposed to go in on foot, but they would not hear 

 of it, saying that the elephants were extremely fierce, 



Vol.1.— O 



