180 
THE LION. 
up on to his hind-quarters, and fixed his fangs into 
the thick part of the tail. The poor animal per¬ 
fectly screamed from the extreme torture, which 
was little to be wondered at, as this unfortunate 
appendage had only a week previously been cruelly 
lacerated by a huge tiger. The elephant now 
swayed to and fro to such a degree that the Major 
had difficulty in retaining his seat in the howdah; 
and was much less able to take an accurate aim 
at the lion, which indeed, screened as the beast 
was by the protruding rump of the elephant, would 
have been scarcely practicable. The Major, besides, 
had only one barrel remaining, and it, therefore, 
behoved him to be most cautious that his last 
charge was not ineffectually expended. 
“ This trying scene continued for two or three 
minutes, during which the Major anxiously looked 
out for Captain Harris. But, unluckily, the Cap¬ 
tain’s elephant had been rendered unmanageable by 
the maltreatment it had itself received from the 
lion, and it was not, therefore, in the Captain’s 
power to render aid to his friend. 
66 The appearance of the lion at this time, mad¬ 
dened as he was with pain and rage, the Major 
described as most awful. 
“At length the beast’s long continued attacks on 
the elephant caused the poor animal evidently to 
give away, and to sink behind; and, had the affair 
continued a short time longer, there is no doubt 
it would have been on its haunches, and the Major 
at the mercy of the fierce assailant. 
“ Finding matters in this very critical state, it 
