Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1895-05-10
MY LORD ELEPHANT.

When l wai stationed mp in the hill
country, some 20 years ago, l used to
be passionately fond Of hunting. l had
not been out from England long, and
the novelty of following big game had
not yet lost its charms. My duties did
not C a great deal of my time, and
l could often be absent a week OF ten
days without serious Inconvenience to
amy ono. With q couple Of natives and
nv old "Henry," / would set forth on
Mowchn, my elephant. Mowcha was
IN exceptionally ino specimen Of his
race. endowed with all its virtues and
but few Of its faults. Ho was strong,
patient, sagacious and devoted to his
master. flo had never been used as a
working elephant, but only for the pur-
pose of tho chase. You should have seen
his unwieldy bulk making its way
noiselossly through the thick jungle
grass, his great feet lifted and put down
with tho utmost caution, his flexible
trunk darting in all directions to scent
tho game, and his small eyes cleaning
with excitement. He seemed to know
i~nstinctively the moment to fire, and
then he would not move a mEsclo. 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 a 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-grandfathoIs with
disrespoct, which would be a criminal
violation Of their religion, it IS their
custom to give to each of the inmates of
the Jungle a particular title rs, 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 a ride on Mowcha. He seemed
to enjoy il as much as they did and
carried his precious burden with the
greatest dignity. He was really hand
some, as elephants go, and looked his
best when adorned with his scarlet trap
pings and harness and bearing the how
dab filed with merry children, and it
was a pretty sight to see them afterward
bostowing 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. My lord the elephant had been
restless for several days, his mahout in
formed me afterward, and that evening
no had managed TO break his chain and
had vanished in the darkness. Whether
he had been spirited away by a 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
oiety Of his kind, we never knew, Of
course, but we missed him moro than
one would think, and for some timo the
CRY among tho children was, IF Now
cha were only herel'
1 tried q 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 its case,
and my cartridge belt hung unused oil
the wall.
About three or four years later / was
invited to spend the Christmas holidays
with an English friend who was giving
n house party at his place farther mp in
the hills / easily obtained leave and
started with but one servant, Ramon.
He had formerly been Mowcha's ma.
hout, but after that bruto's uncanny
disappearance no had attached himself
TO me and proved TO be a very handy
fellow. Wewere mounted Oh hardy lit
tie ponies, and the first day made abou'
90 miles, spending the night at the hu
of n Of the forest rangers who ar
stationed by the government as n guar'
along the edges Of large and importan
forests.
The next day wo plunged into the fo-
est itself. Toward midday we wer
startled by hearing a fearful, thunder
Gus roaring. as of some monster in 1t
death agony. At that distance did no
recognize il as the voice of any will
animal l was acquainted with and turn
ed to Ramon for an explanation. Hi
dark skin was bleached to ashen gray.
ITS a herd Of elephants, &" be eS
claimed, ''and they are sounding thei
battlecryl II they come this way, !
means certain death. We cannot escap
them
It certainly seemed az though the.
were headed in our direction, for th
noise grew louder, and we could fee
the ground trembling beneath Us at tn
trnmpling Of many feet.
Follow me, sahibi' cried Ramon a
he threw himself from his horse an
FASTENED to n Of tho larger trees