Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1875-01-28
An ADVENTURE WITH a cEYLoN ELE-
Y lla PLANT. NE

In the early part of the 1871 wa'
paying a visit to a coff ee planter, wht
had large estate in one Of the mos
out of the way places in the Island O
Ceylon.
After a pleasant rpp up to Handy By
train, and thence by coach and bullock
cart, | Ultimately reached my destina'
ton in sifety. Travelling by bullock
cart is BY no means a comfortable per.
Torrance, and as this was the first
time I had experienced it, I naturally
felt the joltiug very considerably
When I did arrive, however, I was
fully recomronsed, for I received g
hearty welcome from my friend, and
we spent the best part of the night in
talking over school days, and the lates,
news from the ''Old Country"
In the course of conversation, c.
mentioned that 'rogue elephant has
been seen in the neighborhood a few
days previously, and he thought he
would be able to arrange for portion
of the jungle to be beaten the next
evening, when I should probably have
a chance of my SIN alden shot" at large
game. .-
The bridle-path through the jungle
was very narrow ono, but my pony
seemed pretty we'll used to it; indeed,
he wanted to get along rather faster
than / cared about, as his rapid progress
resulted In my tearing my clothes
several times, in consequence Of their
becoming entangled in the branches Of
the thorny acacia, which fourishes
most luxuriantly in that part of Ceylon.
arrived at the postof1lce without
meeting with any adventures, and
having secured the papers, commenced
my return.
Just as l had got about hslf way
through the jungle, and was in one OF
the most narrow parts of the pathway,
l was suddenly arouted from my reverie
by what-to me-was most unaccoun,
table sound, somewhat resembling the
tumult | should have expected to hear
if halfa dozen bulls were believing;
the noise was accompanied by rustling
of the underwood, and swapping OF
branches.
1t instantly flashed acrass my mind
that had Inadvertently come upon the
''rogue elephant" and as the uproar
was Immediately in front of me, l
deemed discretion to be the better part
of valor, and endeavored 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 establishment, the pony did
not appear in the least discounted, but
remained perfectly still, with the ex
ception Of its long, bushy tail, with
which it kept switching off the brown
buffalorfies. My surprise was conse>,
quent upon my conversation with c.
the previous evening, when he mention
ed that horses had great antipathy to
elephants, an antipathy that was only
equaled by the dislike which elephants
had for horses.
l had just turned round in my saddle
| ts see where my horse keeper had got
to, when l found myself within a few
feet of an immense elephant. l had no
fire arms with me, and perhaps it was
fortunate l had not, for to put an
elephant hors de combat with single
shot is a feat to be proud of, and one
WHICH is rarely performed The chances
were that, had 1 been armed, | should
have fired at the elephant, and SO irri
tated him that he would haye imme.
diately rushed upon me. .f
My first movement was to draw my
feet out of the stirrups and slip off the
horse in very undignifed manner. In
doing SO my clothes, which were oc a
very light material, were torn by the
thorns of the brake through which I
was passing. I struggled to regain
my feet-haying lost my balance in
dismounting-and as soon as / did so |
perceived the elephant making a way
for himself through the jungle. in a
direction at right angles with the path
had been following.
Much to my surprise the animal did
not appear to any extent disconnected
at our encounter, and was moving off
| at pace but little quicker than walk,
forcing the underwood away on either
side of him with his trunk.
My surprise was also enhanced when,
on glancing behind me, l saw the
horseskeeper regarding me with a
broad grin on his ugly features.
When | reached the bungalow /
| found that couple of s'neighboring
planters las my friend called them,
Notwithstanding the fact that their es.
tates were considerably over fifty miles
from his own-had called, en- route for
| Handy 4hn tim couutrvv oanito oil If