The Osceola times., 1885-03-28
STUCK In THE MUD.
/, situation Sometimes Decidedly
Dangerous.

e,nck in therAlud! 1t sounds COM
rop.place enough, for who is there that
has not had the misfortune, at one time
| ar another, to be stuck in the mud more
or ~? And yet have found the situ-
atom on several occasions of my life
very far from commonplace; indeed,
AZ .picturesque' as any man could wish
,or. and far more dangerous than !
|rked. For | have been stuck in the
mud on elephant-back, on camel-back,
on horseback, and each time that it
happened | found myself in somewhat
sarious physical danger.
JUMPING FROM AN ELEPHANT.
To begin with the elephant. 1t was
f IN one Of the hottest days of May, one
| If the hottest months of the Indian year,
that found myself one of a party start
Ing fer hger-iungle. The tiger had
| been marked down in some elephant
grassn about a mile beyond the fast
=drying bed OF a small waterproof and
we were already in sight of the place
where the striped monster was said to
/ b. living when we came to the first of
! the water-pools
Now, one of the dangers to be guarded
against when riding on an elephant is
hat of the animal stepping upon boggy
ground. The elephant, rs soon as it
finds its feet sinking, seizes the first
thing it can reach, and puts it under its
Heet to keep itself up. and the first thing,
Is rule is the man who is driving it,
Dor the elephant, the moment that it
suspects the ground TO be too soft to
bear up its huge weight, swings its
tnnk round, and drags the mdhoH Gas
the driver is called) of its head. and
Examples its body under foot in the hope
bi saving itself.
It's next thought is to drag the hoU.
idh, on which the riders sit, off its
back, and y treat it (no matter what it
FoucNns) y the same way as the
wretched nA1hoytfas been served. The
result is that tlephant-rides, whenever
hey hear the cry of fuss qyd!-"stuck
n the mud scramble or tumble OF
hhe animals back as fast as they can.
We'll, we were going along very slow
~ and quietly, when we came to one of
|the water-pools. The leading elephant
|oi the procession passed round il to the
left hand. But when my mdh0m came
| up to the place, he chose TO drive my
|my elephant across the pool instead of
/ pound it. Ii certainly looked safe
tenough. There was not drop of water
|ln the pool, and the surface of the mud
looked as hard and firm as a sun. baked
| brick floor. Even the intelligence of
the elephant was deceived, for Just rs it
was stepping on the ircacherous ground,
Npulled up in careless sort OF way a
iufl Of dead reeds, and began to switch
Aldly from side to side as if keeping
of ilies. The pool had very slight
oppression in the center, and just as the
elephant got in the middle of this-.it
stopped. Then came a sudden Jolt as
II the great beast had slipped, and the
next instant with a shrill cry of terror.
The elephant flung its trunk up in the
"Fass gyar shrieked the n,ahout,
plunging off the elephants head to the
ground!
Fuss gya," we shouted in response,
as we shot off its backl
And not minute too soon, for the
Elephants trunk. reaching out for any
mag 1t could touch, to put under rs
ies Shad already dragged the pad half
on us back, and had we been on il we
snould y have been flung forward, direct
y IN front Of the terrified animal. And
once on the ground, there would have
oeen but little hope for us. But as it
was was we were safe, aud by good luck we
we're able to make the elephant safe.
'oo' Tor dead tree was close by, and
we gave it n pile of branches to put
unuer It's fore feet, and as soon as these
were were on firm footing, the huge thing
Dacked slowly up the bank upon solid
very often, however, it happens that
an elephant stuck in the mud can
not DC released-for tiger-iungles are
oVeh hundreds Of miles from any ropes
or planks or other life-saving appli-
sLe, auces- and the poor beast has to be
C"o. where II stands, TO spare it a lin
scr'ng death from starvation or a cruel
cue s"", IRON wild beasts. Elephants, there
,.o,e' ~, are as a rule extraordinarily care
,roas m a. 70 The solidity of the ground they
on A CAMEL
:, pu' The camel is even more careful
u'an ,hsi The elephant The latter knows
,na' ,ha lts great weight is its danger. while
car u Gainel IS conscious of a special dan
: s'i IN the length of its legs. For when
bosIlel eaIlel steps into mud its long, thin
do".,i day. iegs sink very sudden and very
er, Ply and once stuck, unless its own
ts e.. are with it, there is very little hope
H. IT, me awkward, long-legged beast
as "e so crows and kites attack its eyes, and
a. Soon as night falls the wolves and
,-o@als Cro~, ind the wretched, helpless
''1a.ure an easy victim.
h.aS riding a camel once, on the
.r Avg" land betweeA Beluchistan and
!, nahlstan, when | came TO a thin
nlaia lam OF water trickling across the
Iroa. n 1t was not more than five feet
,,n ury land to dry land, and the
'av depth of water was, | should
IL, ! ABOUT two inches. But at that time
isl1 not know of the camels intense
nv as "a OF crossing mud Nor had /
,,,o.' MY 'uea OF the depth of the mud in the
be,aanl bl before me. When my camel,