4 
THE ELEPHANT. 
Occasionally the hunter, with his rifle, is mounted 
upon an elephant’s back. The presence of the tiger 
is generally made known by the elephants, which, 
scenting their enemy, become agitated, and make 
that peculiar trumpeting which indicates their alarm. 
If the tiger move, many of the elephants become un- 
governable; their trunks are thrown up into the air; 
if they consent to go forward, their cautious steps 
evince their apprehensions. Those that remain 
steady under such circumstances are considered par- 
ticularly valuable. If the motion of an animal 
through the jungle is perceived, the nearest elephant 
is halted, and the rider fires in the direction of the 
waving rushes. The tiger is sometimes wounded by 
these random shots; and he then generally bounds 
through the cover towards the nearest elephant. 
Very few elephants can then resist the impulse of 
their fears. If the trunk, which the animal invariably 
throws up as far as possible out of reach, should be 
scratched by the tiger, all command is lost. Mr 
Williamson describes an occurrence of this sort, which 
happened to two gentlemen of the Bengal army. 
4 They had been in the habit of killing tigers with only 
one elephant, on which being mounted, they one day 
roused a tiger of a very fierce disposition. The ani- 
mal, after doing some mischief among the dogs, 
which baited him very courageously, at length darted 
at the elephant’s head; and, though foiled in the 
attempt to get upon it, nevertheless scratched her 
trunk severely. No sooner did she feel the tiger’s 
claws penetrating her proboscis, than she turned 
round, and set off at full speed, roaring most vehe- 
mently. She seemed to have lost her senses, and to 
be bent on mischief: for wherever she saw a living 
object she pursued it, totally heedless of the mohout’s 
endeavours to guide or restrain her . 5 
