Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-03-09
MY LORD ELEPHANT.


When was stationed up in the hill
country, some 20 years ago, I used to
be passionately fond of hunting I had
not been out from England long, and
the novelty Of following big game had
not yet lost its charms. My duties did
not occupy great deal of my time, and
could often be absent week or ten
days without serious inconvenience to
any one With couple of natives and
my old "Henry," I would set forth OH
Mowcha, my elephant Mowcha was
an exceptionally fine specimen Of his
race, endowed with all its virtues and
but few of its faults. He was strong,
patient, sagacious and devoted to his
master. Ho 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
instinctiyely the moment to fire, and
then he would not move a muscle. You
know it requires no small amount of
nerve to stand perfectly still with
Bengal devil in a striped skin charging
at one, and too often it happens that
your we'll directed shot is spoiled by
your elephants speedy retreat.
The natives deemed Mowcha super
human, Oh 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 criminal
violation of their religion, it is their
custom to give to each of tho 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 tran.
pings and harness and bearing the how
dab filled with merry children, and it
was pretty sight to sec 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 moro than
one would think, and for some time the
cry among the children was, "lf Now
cha were only here''
| tried number Of other elephants |
for my hunting, but could not fill his
place, and es my duties increased about |
that time my gun rarely left its case,
and my cartridge belt hung unused OH
the wall.
About three or four years later l 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. easily obtained leave and
started with but one servant, Ramon
He had formerly been Mowcha's ma
bout, but after that brute's uncanny
disappearance he had attached himself
to me and proved to be very handy
fellow We were mounted on hardy lit
tie ponies, and the first day made about
30 miles, spending the night at the hut
Of one Of the forest rangers who are
stationed by the government as guard
along the edges Of large and important
forests.
The next day we plunged into the for.
est itself. Toward midday we were
startled by hearing fearful, thunder
BUS roaring, as Of some monster in its
leath agony; At that distanceI did not
recognize it as the voice Of any wild
animal was acquainted with and turn
ed to Ramon for an explanation. His
lark skin was bleached to ashen gray.
"It's herd Of elephants, " he ex.
"and they are sounding their
If they come this way, it
means certain death. We cannot escape
HEM"
It certainly seemed a. though they
we're headed in our direction, for the
,oise grew louder, and we could feel
he ground trembling beneath us at the
Of many feet.
Follow me, sahibp cried Ramon as
10 threw himself from his horse and
fastened to one Of the larger trseA