The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1854-05-20

Ills '''iie' "hcn not actually feeding. IN pacing
back and forth, with his tail cooked in the
air, ready for rush upon any one that ap-
proachcs his haunt.
The pluck Of these "r0gucs" is. c1ual to
their fcrocitv. and both arc backed up by their
wonderful cunning. When thcv travel in the
day time, they always 90 with tho wind, and
such is the kccnncss of their faculty Of SMELL
INC, that nothing can follow on their track
without their knowledge They will scent
a man. in particular, at an immense distance.
No matter how noiSclessly the hunter may
follow on his track. the tainted breeze gives
the ''roguc" warning Of the approach of his
foe. lie pauscs with tail erect, ears flung
forward, and trunk in the air. its distendcd
tip pointing in the direction from which the
danger approaches. Every faculty is on the
alert, every nerve is strained to its utmost
tension; but not a movement in the thick
jungle denotes his immediate presence to the
hunter who is trackin" him. and who strives
i'll vain to catch a glimpse of him through the
dense undcrbru>h Whether he be near or
remote. the hunter has no means of knowing
and so he crccps nearer and nearer his am
buShcd foe. Suddenly crash is heard in the
thick jungle. and with Shrill trumpctinc the
elephant is down upon him in full charge
Woe to the hunter if his ann fail his nerves
trcmhlc. his foot stumble. or his rifle miss fire
In a moment he is crushed ont of all SEM
blancc of humanity. When the ''roruc' is
pursued in the open forest or on the naked
plain. he usually retreats: hut the chances
are ten to one that he is mcrcv cntiring the
hunter to follow him into some fivor;tc haunt.
among The dense iuncc or tall c:aS>. from
which he will charge at some unexpected mo-
mcnt.
\ couple ofin>tancc>. which we slightly
ahridro. narrated lv our author. will serve
to rive an idea Of the peculiar rcri's Of at
tacknc these ..rorrlc>" upon their ground -
He was once ON hunting expedition. accom-
panied hv his lro,|cr whom he calls Band
a number o; natives 20 carry thc Guns. They
came to lonr narrow roni with c,avrv
marrin lorlcrcl |v an imNcnctrallr iunglr.
In tbs shallow 0rnl they counted thirteen
.rOrue>" all >tanlinr separate. except a cou-
Ilr OF. @irantr t,'llow> who appeared to /"
chumS The natives tod thrm that these
were notorious couple who la! lonr been
the terror Of the country aronnd They were
too tar OF 4" 'c reached y, ",.,.,,,,. ont ~,
hunters turned their immediate attention 10
others made off, all except The gigantic pair
who seemed inclined to take the matter cool
w. After being fired at from lone li>,anc,
for while. they finally made their way my,
the jungle on the opposite SIDE OF the pond
the hunters following them along the muddy
marain
The natives" saws orr hunter went hop
ping from root 70 root. Skipping tlron-h the
mud. which was more tlian foot deep. Their
l-ht forms hardly sinking in the tourh sur
face. \ rhinestone man certainly has an al
VANTAGE over one Of twelve in this GROUND
added to this. I was carrvin9 the lonr two
ounce rifle of sixteen pounds. which. with
ammunition and 50 forth made M about
thirteen and half stone. in stiff deep Il av.-
| was literally half way MP the calf of my leo
in mud at every step. while the hrht naked
fellows trippcd Ike Snipc over The Sodlcn
ground. Nanlv called upon them to 20 ca
SLY: thcir excitement was at its full pitch.
and they were soon on: of Si~ht among the
trees and undcrwood.ta all the spare Guns
except the four-ouncc rifle. which. weighing
twcntvonc pounds. cilrctuallv prevented the
bearer from lcavin" us bchi.d We had
slipped. and plunged. and struggled along for
some distance. when we were Suddenly check
cd in our advance We had entered small
plot of deep mud and rank grass surrounded
upon all sides by dense rattan Jungle. This
stuff is one woven mass of hooked thorns :
long tcndrilS armed in the same manner. tho
not larger than wiipcord. wind themselves
round the parent canes. and form a Jungle
which even elephants dislike to enter.
"IIaf-way M to our knees in mud, we
stood in this small open space of about thirty
feet by twenty Around us was an opaque
screen of this imrcnctrablc Jungle the lake
lay about fifty yards upon our left. behind the
thick rattan. The gun-bcarcrs had gone a.
head somewhere and were far in advance
We were at Stand->till Leaning upon nv
LONG rifle. stood within four feet of the wall
of the Jungle which divided us from the lake.
| said to e.. The trackcrS are all wrong. and
.iavc gone too far | am convinced that the
elephants must have entered somewhere near
this place Little id think that at that
very moment they we're within a few feet of
us. 3. was standing behind me on the oppo-
site side of the small opening, about seven
yards from the Jungle. suddenly heard a
deep cultural sound in the thick rattan with
in four feet Of me and at the same instant
the whole tangled fabric bent over me, and
bursting aSundcr showed the furious head Of
an elephant, with uplihed trunt in full charge
upon me-
Il had barely tine 70 Geek my rihc,and the
barrel almost touched him as fired knew
Il Uas IN Vim as Lis trn,l rras re sol Sc tlat