ELEPHANTS. 295 



the danger of any two of them running to the same plape for 

 shelter. The keepers with their pikes, placed themselves in the 

 rear of Mr. Herring and his assistant, who stood immediately 

 opposite the den, at about the distance of twelve feet in the front. 

 Mr. Herring requested Cartmell to call in his usual tone to the 

 elephant, when he exhibited him to visitors, on which occasions, 

 the animal was accustomed to face his friends with the hope of 

 receiving something from their hands. Cartmell's cry of 

 ' Chunee ! chunee ! chuneelah ! ' in his exhibiting tone, produced 

 a somewhat favourable posture for his enemies, and he instantly 

 received two bullets aimed from the rifles towards the heart ; they 

 entered immediately behind the shoulder blade, at the distance of 

 about three inches from each other. The moment the balls had 

 perforated his body, he made a fierce and heavy rush at the front, 

 which further weakened the gates, shivered the side bar next to 

 the dislodged story-post, and drove it out into the menagerie. 

 The fury of the animal's assault was terrific, the crash of the 

 timbers, the hallooing of the keepers in their retreat, the calls for 

 ' rifles ! rifles ! ' and the confusion and noise incident to the 

 scene, rendered it indescribably terrific. The assailants rallied 

 in a few seconds, and came pointing their spears with threats. 

 Mr. Tyler having handed two other rifles, they were discharged as 

 before ; and, as before, produced a similar desperate lunge from 

 the enraged beast at the front of his den. Had it been effective, 

 and he had descended on the floor, his weight must have 

 inevitably carried it, together with himself, his assailants, and 

 the greater part of the lions, and other animals, into the Change 

 below, and by possibility have buried the entire menagerie in 

 ruins. ' Eifles ! rifles ! ' were again called for, and from this 

 awful crisis it was only in the power of Mr. Tyler and some 

 persons outside, to load quick enough for the discharge of one 

 rifle at a time. The maddened animal turned round in his den 

 incessantly, apparently with the design of keeping his head. from 

 the riflemen, who after the first two discharges, could only obtain 

 single shots at him. The shutter inside of a small grated window, 

 which stood in a projection into the den, at one of the back 

 corners, was now unstripped, and from this position Mr. Herring 



