II 
THE ELEPHANT 
6i 
the large island of Bargh Chur, which includes 
several thousand acres, the greater portion being 
covered with enormous grass and dense thickets of 
tamarisk, which, in the hot season, is the cool and 
loved resort of tigers. There were also extensive 
jungles in swampy portions of the island, so inter¬ 
mixed with reeds and marsh grass of twelve or four¬ 
teen feet high, that it was difficult to penetrate, even 
upon an elephant. 
I was out at the usual early hour, shortly after 
sunrise, the shikaris having returned to camp with 
the news that none of the bullocks tied up for baits 
during the preceding night had been killed; it there¬ 
fore remained to try our fortune by simply beating 
the high grass jungle in line, on speculation, and in 
the same manner to drive the occasional dense 
coverts of feathery tamarisk. 
We had proceeded with a line of about five-and- 
thirty elephants, well extended ten yards apart, and 
in this manner we had advanced about a mile, when 
our attention was attracted by a native calling to us 
from a large ant-hill which enabled him to be distin¬ 
guished above the grass. We immediately rode 
towards him, and were informed that a tiger had 
killed his cow the night before, and had dragged the 
body into jungle so dense that he had been afraid to 
follow. This was good news ; we therefore took the 
man upon an elephant as our guide towards the 
reported spot. 
The elephants continued to advance in line, 
occasionally disturbing wild pigs and hog deer, 
