The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1892-10-02
HUNTING THE 1IGEh'
To DO 1t while Mounted on an Elephant !"
Unpleasant.

.eD;d Won ever do any tiger hunting
shoard AN elephant?' asked Captain Joi-
life of me one night as we sat chatuhs
and smoking after dinner, says wIi'er
in the ST. Louis Globe-Democrat, ano On
INV replying in the negative ne cYrsiu
ned: well, that's lucky for YOU LAKE
my advice and don't.
.sThe Eighteenth, you know, were at
IubbIenore about three years ago, ana
there we became acquainted with the
raiah of a neighboring district. lie was
iolIv old fellow and / must say treated
ms right royaily. The old fellow wound
IN his Inequalities by a general INVITA-
ton to the regiment to tiger hunt which
no had in our honor. We turned out IN
force, for though We bad most oil us
tackled the willy tiger IN one way OF an
other. few of us had done so as the raJah
proposed to carry out this particular nun''
viz: mounted on elephants. e.
'sSnch an imposing and magnificent
hight / never saw There must have
been fully forty elephants, all bearing
richly upholstered howdahs. l had been
assured that my beast was particularly
sacacious and full of courage before
starring. and that | would enjoy good
snort. but | certainly did not enjoy the
ride. | had been on an elephant in the
geological gardens in London when Il
child and thought it great fun, but
whether / then possessed stronger
stomach. or whether that beasts gait was
an acquired one, cant tell, but the
raiah's brute certainly numbered along
like a ship in the trough of heavy sea,
and / deyoutly wished / was once more
on terra frma.
when we reached the spot where we
were expected TO find the game the hunt
was Immediately set in motion, and the
method was simple enough. The ele-
plants were all placed in line about SIX
TO nine feet apart, and III that lorna
ton, at a given signal, we all advanced
crushing through the tail grass and rem
dering it impossible for game OF any SIZE TO
lie concealed meath its friendly sbeiter.
So we went on for perhaps an hour or
more without getting glimpse OF Tiger
and the affair was becoming monotonous
TO me, more especially as ! could not re-
eoncile my notions of comfort to the un-
wieldy motions of my mount.
I'VE knew though that tiger was
near BY the occasional signs of fear that
the keen-scented elephants displayed, and
my beast was most conspicuous IN that
respect, and i began 10 feel very doubt
ful of his much-yaunted courage. Pres
entity we came TO large patch OF tana-
TiSk& tuOuEA tntht9 @tSe
high, were almost as slender as man S
finger. and forming with their feathery
tops and close growth admirable cover
for game. Through them we crashed,
however, the great weight and bulk OF
the elephants destroying them almost as
completely as though they had been cut
down by scythe. During this advance
] had somehow got in front, and when
emerged az the far end of the belt Of tam
arisks saw q tiger stealing across an open
space for similar cover beyond.
II ut of.ce prepared TO IRE, but before
/ could 1ttempt 10 do so my very cOur-
ngeous elephant turned around like a
fash and set out on a return journey.
The mahout quickly turned him, how
ever, and by several not very gentle ad-
JcCnitions kept his face TO the music
The tiger in the meantime had halted, ]
believe myself in sheer astOnishment al
my mounts antics. | would never have
believed an elephant capable of the gym
nastic feats that this creature went
through. He danced and pranced around
like u wild colt, and once bumped bis
back up like a cat will when menaced
by dog, al in his efforts to turn tail
and fee, but the mahouts sharp point
was not 70 be gainsaid.
Once 1 was foolish enough TO let 70
of the howdahs Pail, with view 90 try
ing to get a snap shot. but / was thrown
with such violence against the opposite
side, that the girths gave way and down
i went howdah and all, TO the parched
ground below. All the wind was shaken
out of me, but otherwise | was pretty
much as / started, except that my TEN.
per suffered considerably, and when re-
covered my wits sufficiently TO look
around, the tiger was gone. The other
hunters and the elephants, however, just
then reached the open ground, but
teruined to do Atile remainder of the hunt
afoot, 80 followed Immediately In the
wake Of my elenRant. as the line plunged