The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1894-08-15
a LIVING CYCLONE,
How An Electrical Storm Affected an Ele.
phant Herd.

hO" An LItstTlCd1 <AJIESIGd III ~iN
phant Herd.
\ native brought in word early in the
morning that a tiger had killed and half
eaten a bullock at a spot two miles away,
and after breakfast a couple Of US rode
over to see about making all ambush for
the night. The tiger had dragged the car
cass 200 feet from the spot where he had
made his spring, and We found it lying
under a tree. The ground for a distance Of
many rods was open, and constructing q
platform in the tree we could not fail to
zee the tiger when he came at night II
finish his meal, During the day the ma
tivcs completed this work, and at shutdown
Colonel Fuller and I took up our stations.
The platform was 16 feet from the ground.
The day had been terribly hot and close,
and when darkness came we witnessed q
curious phenomenon thunderstorm
without thunder, wind or rain. Had we
known what was coming we should Of
course have remained in camp. We had
been on the platform half an hOur when
the first flash came, and during the next
three hours there was not a period Of
/ darkness lasting five seconds. 1t was as if
the whole country was on fire.
At 9 o'clock the tiger emerged from a
thicket 80 rods away and advanced to
within 80 feet Of US. 1t needed but one
gIa~rc to show that he was badly fright
encd. He crOuched and trembled, looked
this way and that, ran to and fro and
finally sat up and hOwled like a dog. He
was a fair mark, but neither Of us moved
a hand. We had the rifles covered up
with the blankets and were afraid to bring
them out, After a few minutes the tiger
turned tail and bolted for the forest, and
so still was the night that we could hear
him as he crashed through the bushes a
quarter Of a mile away Fifteen minutes
later the colonel touched my arm and
pointed downward without a word. 1
looked over the edge Of the platform and
counted five elephants standing in a group
below us They had come up from the
north viii. e faced the south, but they
had made no more noise than so many
jackals gliding about, and we knew they
were terribly frightened by tho electrical
display.
Five minutes after my first look four
more elephants came up, and the new
conner were greeted with a sort of moan
ing sound, and the nine huddled together
like sheep cOrnered by q dog. One of them
rubbed against the trunk of the tree now
and then with such weight that we every
instant expected the platform to be torn
apart, but fortunately for us the poles had
been we'll secured to the limbs by stout
creepers. Half an hour after our first
count there was a herd Of at least 30 ele-
plants below us. Not one had been seen
in that locality for a week, and these ami
mails must have been on the move across
the country when the storm began.
Each and every one must nave been
aware of 0I1r nrpSnnpp Init aside from lift |
ing their trunks and uttering a sort of
grOwl they did not menace us. From 9 to
10 o'clock not a word was exchanged be-
tween US on the platform. Soon after 10,
when the display seemed to grow even
more vivid, | leaned forward to ask the
colonel how long he thought it would last.
A branch broke under me with a report
like a pistol, and then we witnessed some
thing few men nave ever had opportunity
to behold-a stampede of elephants. At
the crack of the limb every one of them
sounded a note of alarm, and with a cir
cling movement which made the earth
tremble they dashed away to the east.
well, we are rid Of them," l said tC
the colonel.
But heaven preserve our camp!' he
replied. ''They are heading straight for
it, and unless the mon are wide awake not
one of them Will escape"
1t was midnight before the storm ceased,
and it was broad daylight before we dared
climb down and make our way to camp.
The stampede Of the elephants had covered
a front of - rods. They had turned aside
for nothing but the largest trees. Small
trees ard bushes had been broken dow OF
uprOOtCd, and the path looked like that OF
a cyclone. We had a camp with four off
GERS, 20 natives and 10 horses in it, with q
wagon, Il team of bullocks and provisions
for a month";. Two of the officers escaped
by lcaping into a ravinc, and fOur of the
natives We're saved by the trunks Of large
trees. Two horses We're found in the for.
est next day, but all else went. The ele
plants had burst upOn them like a thun
dCrbOlt and charged right over the ann
Tents, wagon, horses, bullOcks, provisions
all had been tramplcd into the soft
earth, and with them IS human beings
We found only fragments of them. The
elephants, mad with terror, must have
seized some of the poor u~nfOrtunatCS and
whirlcd them about and dashed them
down. The six who had escaped with
their lives could tell Us nothing except
that there was a sudden rush, a mighty
trembling Of the earth, a cry here anC
there. 1t was all over in 80 seconds. There
were splintcrs and fragments here and
there, there-wcre broken guns and bits OF
tent cloth and blankets. but of the outfit
not SO much as a water bottle or a biscuit
escaped destruction NJ QUAD.
a Picture of Webster.