St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1874-07-17
An Adventure with Ceylou Elephant

In the early part of the year Isl.
was paying Il visit to Il coffee planter
who had Il large estate III one of tn,
most ont f-the-way places in the Island
of Ccyinn.
After pleasant run up to Handy 10y
train. and thence 10y coach and bullock
cart. ultimately reached my dcstina
tion in safety. Travelling hy bullock
cart is 10y no means Il comfortable
performance, and as this WAS the first
time had experienced it, naturally
felt the oltimg very considerably. When
| did arrive, however. | was fully rec
omprnSrd. for | received most hearty
welcome from my friend. and we spent
the best part of the night in talking
over scho"l-days. and the latest news
from the "Old country"
In the course of conversation c.
mentioned that Il ''roguc elephant" had
been seen in the ncighborhood il few
days previously. and he thought he
would hc able To arrange for portion
of the Jungle Ia he beaten the next eve
ming, when | should probably have Il
chance of my "maidcn shot" ut large
game.
The hridlc-path through the Jungle
was Il very narrow one. hut my pony
seemed pretty well used to it: indeed.
he wanted Ia get along rather faster
than cared about, rs his rapid progress
resulted in my tearing my clothes scv-
cral times. in consequences of their he
coming cntanglcd in the branches of
the thornN acaciI, which flouriShcs most
luNuIinntly i'll that part of Ccylon.
arrived at the post office without meet
ing with any adventures. and having
procured the papers, commenced my
return.
just as had got about halfway
through the Jungle, and was in one of
the most narrow parts of the pathway.
| was suddenly aroused from my rcvcrie
by What-to mc-was Il most unac-
countablc sound, somewhat resembling
the tumult should have expected to
hear if half Il dozen bulls were below
ing; the noise was accompanied by Il
rIstling of the underwood. and snap
ping of branches.
1t instantly flashed across my mind
that had Inadvertently come upon the
''rogue elephant" and as the uproar
was Immediately in front of me,
deemed discretion to he the better part
of valor, and endcavOrcd to turn my
horses head.
could not succeed in my attempts.
however, the path being so narrow, and
the underwood on either side so dense,
that had no choice but to stop where
| was or advance.
To my astonishment, the pony did
not appear in the least 1iscomtittcd,
but remained perfectly still, with the
exception of its long, bushy tail, with
which it kept switching off the brown
buffiilo-iiIcs. My surprise was conse-
qucnt upon my conversation with C
the previous evening, when he men
toned that horses had great antipa-
thy to elephants, an antipathy which
was only eqnalled by the dislike which
elephants had for horses.
| had just turned round in the saddle
to see where my horse-keeper had got
to. when found myself within few
feet OF an immense elephant. had no
firearms with me, and perhaps it was
fortunate | had not, for to place an
elephant hOrs de combat with single
shot is a feat to he proud of, and one
which Is rarely performed. The chances
were that, had been armed, should
have fired at the elephant, and so irrita-