Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1895-03-08
MY LORD ELEPHANT,

Tom Mason in New York Sun.
MY LORD ELEPHANT
When I was stationed up in the hill
country, some 30 years ago, I used tt
be passionately fond of hunting. hac
not been out from England long, ant
the novelty of following big game ha6
not yet lost its charms. My duties die
not occupy great deal of my time, and
could often be absent a week or tel
days without serious Inconvenience to
any one. With couple Of natives and
my old ''Henry," I would set forth on
Mowcha, my elephant. Mowcha was
an exceptionally fine specimen of his
race, endowed with all its virtues and
but few of it's faults. He was strong,
patient, sagacious and devoted to his
master. He had never been used as a
working elephant, but only for the pur-
pose of the chase. You should have seen
his unwieldy bulk making its way
noiselessly through the thick jungle
grass, his great feet lifted and put down
with the utmost caution, his flexible
trunk darting in all directions to scent
the game, and his small eyes cleaning
with excitement. He seemed to know
instinctively the moment to fire, and
then he would not move muscle. You
know it requires no small amount of
nerve to stand perfectly still with a
Bengal devil in a striped skin charging
at one, and too often it happens that
your well directed shot is spoiled by
your elephants speedy retreat.
The natives deemed Mowcha super
human, on account Of his intelligence
and strength, and his mahout always
called him my lord the elephant and
treated him with the greatest respect
You know the Hindoo belief-that the
souls Of ones ancestors have to reside
for period after death in the bodies OF
animals till they have atoned for their
shortcomings on earth, and, lest they
might unwittingly treat some of their
grandfathers or great-grandfathers with
disrespect, which would be a criminal
violation Of their religion, it is their
custom to give to each Of the inmates of
the jungle particular title as, for in
stance, his highness the tiger, our king
the lion, etc. So Mowcha was more Of
ten addressed as my lord the elephant
than by his real name.
He was a great pet in the regiment,
and for the children at the station there
was no better sport than to climb into
the howdah, shrieking with laughter,
and have ride on Mowcha. He seemed
to enjoy it as much as they did and
carried his precious burden with the
greatest dignity. He was really hand
some, as elephants 60, and looked his
best when adorned with his scarlet trap
pings and harness and bearing the how
dab filled with merry children, and it
was pretty sight to see them afterward
bestowing upon him his reward in the
shape Of pineapples, bananas and man.
goes, all Of which he loved to stow away
in his capacious stomach.
tell you all these details that you
may understand my grief when he sud
denly disappeared one night in early
spring. Ny lord the elephant had been
restless for several days, his mahout in
formed me afterward, and that evening
he had managed to break his chain and
had vanished in the darkness Whether
he had been spirited away by clever
thief, or had decided that he had work
ed for man long enough and would now
return to his native woods and the So
ciety Of his kind, we never knew, of
course, but we missed him more than
one would think, and for some time the
cry among the children was, eff Now
cha were only hereP'
I tried a number Of other elephants
for my hunting, but could not fill his
place, and as my duties increased about
that time my gun rarely left it's case,
and my cartridge belt hung unused on
the wall.
About three or four years later I was
invited to spend the Christmas holidays
with an English friend who was giving
a house party at his place farther up in
the hills. I easily obtained leave and
started with but one servant, Ramon.
He had formerly been Mowcha's ma
hout, but after that brute's uncanny
disappearance he had attached himself
to me and proved to be very handy
fellow. Wewere mounted on hardy lit
tie ponies, and the first day made about
so miles, spending the night at the hut
of one Of the forest rangers who are
stationed by the government as a guard
along the edges Of large and important
forests.
The next day we plunged into tire for
est itself Toward midday we wers
startled by hearing a fearful, thunder
GUS roaring, as of some monster in its
death agony. At that distance I did not
recognize it as the voice of any wild
animal was acquainted with and turn
ed to Ramon for an explanation. His
dark skin was bleached to ashen gray.
"It's a herd of elephants, " he ex.
claimed, land they are sounding their
battlecry! If they come this way, it
means certain death. We cannot escape
Them"
It certainly seemed as though they
were headed in our direction, for the
noise grew louder, and Ys could feel
the ground trembling beneath US at the
of many feet.
Follow me, sabibP' cried Ramon as
he threw himself frorl his horse and
FASTENED 10 one Of the larger trees,
which he began to ascend with the ut.
most rapidity. did the same, NY pro-
gress being hindered, however, by my
heavy riding boots. We had no time to
secure our ponies, and the frightened
animals, as soon as they were released,
eprsng nimbly through the thiekets and
and with them, of f,enrse,
vanished our only means Of escape from
the forest, even though the elephants
should pass us by unframed.
We reached our position Of safety
none too soon. I could see the heavy
forest branches shaking violently, and
soon huge gray mass broke through.
stumbling along at a remarkable rate
of speed. not 20 yards from as and
with vicious rage.
tits rogue elephant. sahib, said
Ramon. 'They are chasing him from
the herd. !"