230 
WILD BEASTS AND THEIR WA VS 
CHAP. 
the wild - rose thicket. As the elephants ap¬ 
proached in close order, I was certain, from the 
peculiar sounds emitted, that a tiger or some un¬ 
beloved animal was before them, and upon the 
advance of the line to within 30 yards of the open 
ground a rustling in the bush announced the pre¬ 
sence of some animal which could not much longer 
remain concealed. Suddenly a large panther 
bounded across the open, and I took a snap shot, 
which struck it through the body a few inches 
behind the shoulder. It rolled over to the shot, but 
immediately disappeared in the thick jungle a few 
paces opposite. 
I called the line of elephants, and we lost 
no time in beating the neighbouring bush in 
the closest order, as I fully expected the panther 
would be crouching beneath the tangled mass of 
foliage. 
In a short time the elephants sounded, and with¬ 
out more ado the panther forsook its cover and 
dashed straight at Thompson, seizing this large 
elephant by the shoulder-joint, and hanging on like 
a bull-dog with teeth and claws. Away went 
Thompson through the tangled rose-bushes, tearing 
along like a locomotive! It was impossible to fire, 
as the panther was concealed beneath the projecting 
pad below the howdah, and I could not see it. In 
this manner we travelled at railway pace for about 
100 yards, when I imagine the friction of the 
thick bush through which we rushed must have 
been too much for the resistance of the attacking 
