AN ELEPHANT-FIGHT. 
133 
irritation towards each other, provoked their rage 
against the horsemen, upon whom both instantly 
turned, and pursued them with a speed that bid fair 
to render fruitless the utmost efforts of their horses. 
I confess I expected every moment to see one of the 
riders seized by the trunk of the excited elephant and 
either whirled into the air or crushed to death under 
the weight of its ponderous body, but by the dex- 
terity of his horsemanship and the superior speed of 
his horse, he managed to escape, although at one 
time he was in no little jeopardy. 
The elephants were now led from the enclosure, and 
others introduced, when the same scene was almost 
precisely repeated, until the amusement began to lose 
its interest and to grow exceedingly tiresome. After 
the first shock the combatants invariably declined 
to try a second, which I could not help thinking a 
most prudent determination. A tusk of one of them 
was broken off close to the jaw, and the animal led 
from the arena streaming with blood. The unfortu- 
nate creature was most probably rendered useless by 
this accident, as the tusk when broken almost inva- 
riably becomes diseased; the wound constantly sup- 
purating renders the animal unable to perform its cus- 
tomary services. We at length became completely 
weary of the sport, and retired with the good wishes 
of the Newaub, who seemed pleased at the idea that 
he had availed himself of the opportunity of enter- 
taining us. The elephants at Lucknow have been 
long celebrated for their prowess in these encoun- 
ters ; but I must own that on witnessing them I was 
greatly disappointed. 
N 
