Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-02
THREE ELEPHANT STORIES.
freed BY an Angry Brute-An Intrepid
Beast in Battle.

Mai. Rogers had been out shooting, and
| had discharged all his guns, when an ele-
| plant made a charge at him from the
skirts of the jungle. There was no help
! for it except TO run, and for 400 yards the
| Major kept just ahead, feeling at every
step as if the trunk was trying to twist
| itself about his loins. A turn around
| tree gave him a momentary advantage,
which he made the most of by springing
up into the branches; he was as nimble as
| a cat and as strong as a lion. One foot
| higher and he would have been out of the
! elephants reach; but before he had time
to draw up his feet the elephant had got
him firmly Clinched in the tolls of his pro-
bOSciS. Still, Rogers pulled against
him, thinking it was better to have his leg
Wrenched from the socket than to fall
| back bodily into the animals power. The
struggle, however, did not last long, for,
to the delight of the pursued and the
chagrin of the pursuer, the Wellington
boot, which the former wore, slipped of,
released the leg and saved the life of poor
Rogers. The dilemma, however. did not
end here, for the elephant, finding himself
baked Of his prey, after destroying the
boot, took UP his quarters beneath the
branches and kept his anticipated victim
in the tree for twenty-four hours, when
the country postman happened to pass
! by. Rogers gave him notice of his po-
SlIlOIs anu SOOu NIP CdllGs anu Tue ClC-
plant was frightened away by tom-toms
and yelling. Had this occurred in de-
serted part of the jungle, the officer must
have been starved to death in the tree.
There is a beautiful story of an old ele-
| plant engaged in battle on the plains OF
| India. He was standard-bearer, and car
ried on his huge back the royal ensign,
| the rallypoint Of the Poona host. At the
! beginning of the fight he lost his master.
The ''mahOut," or driver, had just given
| him the word to halt, when he received a
fatal wound and fell to the ground, where
| he lay under a heap of slain. The Obedi-
| ent elephant stood still while the battle
closed around him and the standard he
| carried. He never stirred 4 foot, refusing
to advance or retire, as the conflict be-
| came hotter and tierceF, until the MahTat-
tas, seeing the standard still flying stead
lily in its place, refused to believe that
they were being beaten, and rallied
again and again round the colOTs. And
all this while, amid the din of battle,
the patient animal stood straining its
ears to catch the sound of that voice it
would never hear again. At length the
| tide of conquest left the field deserted.
The Mahrattas-swept on in pursuit of the
! flying foe, but the elephant, like rock,
stood there, with the dead and dying
around and the ensign waving in It's
! place. For three days and nights it re-
manned where its master had given the
command to halt. No bride or threat
| could move it. They then sent TO vii.
| lage, 100 miles away, and brought the
mahOut's little son. The noble hero
seemed then to remember how the driver
! had sometimes given his authority to the
| little child, and Immediately, with all the
shattered trappings clinging as he went,
paced quietly and slowly away.
1.-The native HindOo," the narrator of
this story tells us, "from want of thought
| keeps up a constant drumming on the
beasts head with the goad, or 'ankus;' l,
therefore, hoped not to use it at all. Such
an improvement all at once, however,
| proved more than the elephantine mind
could grasp. He began really to enjoy
! himself, going his own way more than
mine, till at last he marched straight into
an immense forest tree Of the banyan
! species, and commenced to browse. He
seized the bOughs above his head, and,
Juggling violently at them, brought them
down on my devoted skull. This was too
much. raised the ankus and brought it
! down on his head with a blow that
| brought blood through the skin. This had
the desired effect, and he at once bundled
| off along the road by which he knew |
wanted him to go. He merely took with
him branch about the size of a small
apple tree to discuss as we went along.
From this moment we were friends, and
don't think ever had to use the hook
| again so as to bring blood"