834 
THE ELEPHANT. 
from the giant grasp of the enemy, and started off 
at full speed, though minus the saddle, which the 
beast bore away in triumph. 
Another danger to which the mounted hunter is 
exposed, is the possible unmanageableness of his 
horse, of which Gordon Gumming gives us a notable 
instance. After telling us that “ he had placed two 
balls in the body of one of a small troop of female 
elephants, and that the wounded animal subse¬ 
quently dropped astern of the rest, and next mo¬ 
ment was surrounded by the dogs, which, barking 
angrily, engrossed her attention,” he goes on to 
say:— 
“ Having placed myself between the maimed ele¬ 
phant and the retreating troop, I dismounted within 
forty yards of her, in open ground ; and “ Coles- 
berg,” being extremely frightened, gave me much 
trouble, jerking my arm when I tried to fire. At 
length I let fly; but, on endeavouring to regain 
the saddle, my horse would not allow me to mount; 
and when I tried to lead him and run for it, he 
backed towards the enemy. At this moment I 
heard another elephant close behind me, and look¬ 
ing about, beheld “ the friend,” the one that had pre¬ 
viously shown regard for its wounded comrade, with 
uplifted trunk, charging down upon me at top 
speed, trumpeting shrilly, and following an old 
deaf pointer named Schwart, that trotted along 
before her. I felt certain she would have either 
me or the horse; nevertheless, I determined not to 
relinquish my steed, and held on by the bridle. 
My men, who, of course, kept at a safe distance, 
