The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-09-19
THE ELEPHANT TAMER.

THE ELEPHANT TAMER,
 twill the Sahlb shoot it as it stands in the stable, or shall we take IL outside the kheddah to be shot?"
 I'll shoot It IF the stable, iemadar. It would be dangerous to attempt to move it. Maharaja and Sundara could easily drag the body outside atter~ard. See that the two are ready harneSsed to-mor- row morning"
 At what time will the Sahio shoot it ?"
 About eight O clock. And see that hal!-a-dozsn men are ready with axes and knives to take out its tusks and to cut of its feet"
 "Very well, Sah,b. It has been very furious to-day. It nearly killed Sooj ,h, the mahout elephant-driver as he was thro~ipg bundle of fodder to it. It clipped a great piece out of one of the posts with it's left tusk sit thrust at him :"
 "ls the tusk damaged7 ?"
 Not seriously, Sahib, believe. I have not seen 1t myself; but Socj Ah re- ports that small piece is broken off the tip"
 "I would like to see it; the tusk may be cracked"
 So saying, Captain Eaton put on his sun-helmet, and accompanied by the old lemadar, stepped out of his office into the elephant-yard.
 Captain Eaton was in charge of the government elephant kheddah or depot at Jehanabad. It was a responsible and important post, for there were more than one hundred elephants in the kheddah, and several huudred men were employed as mahouts and fodder coolies and in other capacities to look after them.
 Standing in rows in several huge and lofty sheds, supported by ponderous wooden posts, were the &heddah ele- plants, taking their noon day rest. They were of all sizes and sexes, from the stately high.caste tusker to the little newly-born calf with its hairy head and short undeveloped trunk. They were all busily engaged in munching their fodder, consisting of great bundles of grass and green leaves and pieces of sugar cane. All were in incessant motion, swaying their bodies backward and forward, shifting their legs uneasily, swinging their heads aud trunks. and fapping their ears. Near by sat the mahouts and other attendants smoking, and watching their elephants feeding, As the S,hib entered the yard, they all rose quickly and ashamed to him profoundly.
 Having walked through the sheds and glanced at the elephants, and given a few orders to the mahouts, Captain E atom proceeded across the yard to d small shed in one corner, where, te,hered by itself, stood huge tusker. It was evident there was something wrong with the animal, for its legs were secured by huge chains, fastened to posts buried deep in the ground. A heavy chain was wound round its neck, behind its ears, but the ends had become unfastened and were hang. ing loose.
 "Shaitan," or the Demon, for that was the elephants well.deserved name, was peculiarly dangerous brute. Dur ing the past three or four years he had killed several men, and had of late be- come so vicious that for several weeks he had not been taken out of the stable He was kept heavily chained aud was constantly watched. His food was thrown to him from distance, no oue daring to go within reach of his long tusks or trunk. The torn-up floor, the splintered wood- work of the stable, and the great raw wounds on its legs caused by the chains in it's struggles showed to what fits of fury it was liable. It was now under sem tence of death, for Eaton, having re- ported that it was unserviceable and also unfit for sale on account of its savage dis position, had received orders to shoot i,
 The elephant was of great size but its long legs, roach back, small head, and other bad points showed it to be low caste animal. It had pair of long. white, scimisai-like tusks, the points oi which nearly touched the ground. It was mottled, especially about the fore head, ears, and fore-legs, with pale flesh colored patches, giving it a most un- pleasant appearance.
 As Captain Eaton, followed by the jemadar and some other men, ap- preached, the elephant, which had been restlessly swaying itself backward and forward, stopped for an instant cooked its ears viciously, and looked at its foes malevolently with its little pie-like eyes. Then 1t resumed its restless movements, as if unconscious of their presence, never theless keeping . sharp lookout for an opportunity of striking at anyone coming within reach. When the captain had ap- preached as close to it as he thought safe n order to examine the injured tusk, the elephant struck fuYiously st him with its