140 
MAMMALIA. 
[Chap. III. 
followed his example. The elephant did not see us until we 
had run some fifteen or twenty paces from the spot where 
we turned, when he gave us chase, screaming frightfully as he 
came on. The Englishman managed to climb a tree, and 
the rest of my companions did the same ; as for myself I 
could not, although I made one or two superhuman efforts. 
But there was no time to be lost. The elephant was running 
at me with his trunk bent doWn in a curve towards the ground. 
At this critical moment Mr. Lindsay held out his foot to me, 
with the help of which and then of the branches of the tree, 
which were three or four feet above my head, I managed to 
scramble up to a branch. The elephant came directly to the 
tree and attempted to force it down, which he could not. He 
first coiled his trunk round the stem, and pulled it with all his 
might, but with no effect. He then applied his head to the 
tree, and pushed for several minutes, but with no better 
success. He then trampled with his feet all the projecting 
roots, moving, as he did so, several times round and 
round the tree. Lastly, failing in all this, and seeing a pile of 
timber, which I had lately cut, at a short distance from us, he 
removed it all (thirty-six pieces) one at a time to the root of 
the tree, and piled them up in a regular business-like manner ; 
then placing his hind feet on this pile, he raised the fore part 
of his body, and reached out his trunk, but still he could not 
touch us, as we were too far above him. The Englishman then 
fired, and the ball took effect somewhere on the elephant's 
head, but did not kill him. It made him only the more furious. 
The next shot, however, levelled him to the ground. I 
afterwards brought the skull of the animal to Colombo, and it 
is still to be seen at the house of Mr. Armitage." 
4. " One night a herd of elephants entered a village in the 
Four Corles. After doing considerable injury to plaintain 
bushes and young coco-nut trees, they retired, the villagers 
being unable to do anything to protect their fruit trees from 
destruction. But one elephant was left behind, who continued 
to scream the whole night through at the same spot. It was 
