360 
THE ELEPHANT. 
<c As soon as the elephant is found feeding, the 
horseman rides before him as near his face as pos¬ 
sible; or, if he flies, crosses him in all directions, 
crying out, c I am such a man and such a man; this 
is ray horse, that has such a name; I killed your 
father in such a place, and your grandfather in such 
another; and I am now come to kill you ; you are 
but an ass in comparison with them/ This non¬ 
sense he verily believes the elephant understands. 
Furious and angry at hearing the noise imme¬ 
diately before him, he seeks to seize him with his 
trunk or proboscis; and, intent upon this, follows 
£he horse everywhere, turning round with him, 
and neglecting to make his escape by running 
straight forward, in which consists his only chance of 
safety. After having made him turn once or twice 
in pursuit of the horse, the horseman rides close up 
alongside of him, and drops his companion just be¬ 
hind on the off side ; and while he engages the 
elephant’s attention upon the horse, the footman 
behind gives him a drawn stroke just above the 
heel, or what in man is called the tendon Achilles. 
This is the critical moment; the horseman imme¬ 
diately wheels round, takes his companion up be¬ 
hind him, and rides off full speed after the rest of 
the herd, if they have started more than one. 
Sometimes an expert Aggajeer will kill three out of 
one herd. If the sword is good, and the man not 
afraid, the tendon is commonly entirely separated; 
and if it is not cut through, it is generally so far 
divided that the animal, with the stress he puts 
upon it, breaks the remaining part asunder. In 
