Ill 
THE ELEPHANT 
89 
hand; and as the loud yells and shouts of the beaters 
became nearer, Moolah Bux pricked his ears and 
kept a vigilant look-out. Suddenly a hare emerged 
about 100 yards distant; without observing our 
well-concealed position it raced at full speed 
directly towards us, and in a few seconds it ran 
almost between the elephants legs as it made for 
the protection of the jungle. The mighty Moolah 
Bux fairly bolted with a sudden terror as this harm¬ 
less and tiny creature dashed beneath him, and 
although he recovered himself after 5 or 6 yards, 
nevertheless for the moment the monster was scared 
almost by a mouse. 
It is this uncertainty of character that has 
rendered the elephant useless for military purposes 
in the field since the introduction of fire-arms. In 
olden times there can be no doubt that a grand 
array of elephantine cavalry, with towers containing 
archers on their backs, would have been an im¬ 
portant factor when in line of battle ; but elephants 
are useless against fire-arms, and in our early battles 
with the great hordes brought against us by the 
princes of India, their elephants invariably turned 
tail, and added materially to the defeat of their army. 
Only a short time ago, at Munich, a serious 
accident was occasioned by a display of ten or 
twelve elephants during some provincial fete, when 
they took fright at the figure of a dragon vomiting 
fire, and a general stampede was the consequence, 
resulting in serious injuries to fifteen or sixteen 
persons. 
