The Ursus labiatus being one of the most vicious animals, I have seen it upon two occasions attack an elephant, one of which was quite unprovoked.
We had been driving jungle for sambur deer in the Balaghat district, and instead of posting myself upon a mucharn, or occupying any fixed position, I remained upon my elephant Hurri Ram. This was a tusker that had been lent to me by the Government upon two occasions, and he was so good-tempered, and active in making his way over bad ground in steep forests, that I determined to try him as a shooting elephant. I took my stand upon the open grass-land, which was beautifully undulating, and would have made a handsome park. Standing behind a bush we were partially concealed, and I waited in expectation that some animals might break covert in my direction. Presently I saw a dark object running through the low bushes upon the margin of the sal forest on my right, and a large bear emerged about 100 yards from my position. It stood upon the open for a few seconds, evidently taking a close scrutiny of the surroundings, prior to a run across the country, where no chance would be afforded for concealment. It suddenly espied the elephant, and, apparently without a moment's hesitation, it charged from the great distance of 100 yards at full speed directly upon the nervous Hurri Ram. I had not long to wait, but just as I pulled the trigger, when the bear was within 10 yards, the elephant whisked round and bolted down hill across the open, towards the portion of the jungle that was about 250 yards upon my left. Nothing would stop the runaway brute, but fortunately I had stationed a police constable at the very spot for which the elephant was making, and he, seeing the state of affairs, ran forward, shouting at the top of his voice and flourishing his rifle; this had the effect of turning the runaway, just as it was about to enter the forest, where we should in all probability have been smashed.
The bear had in the meantime gone across country, and although we hunted it for more than a mile, we never saw it again. This was a purely unprovoked attack, and it would have been interesting to have seen the result had the elephant not bolted. I imagine that the bear would have seized it by the leg, and afterwards would have attempted a retreat.
Upon another occasion, at a place called Soondah in the same district, I was upon Hurri Ram; I had been working through the high grass in the first-class reserves throughout the day, having killed a splendid stag sambur, when we were attracted by the peculiar short roar or moan made by a tigress calling either for her cub or for some male companion. This was in the sal forest, within a quarter of a mile of our position. It was a dangerous attempt, upon such an untrustworthy elephant as Hurri Ram, to look for a tiger in a thick sal jungle, as that species of tree grows in long straight trunks exceedingly close together, to an extent that would make it impossible for a large elephant to continue a direct course. Should the animal run away, the result would probably be fatal to the rider. We again heard the cry of the tiger repeated; this decided me to make the trial, and we entered the forest, carefully advancing, and scanning every direction.
The sal tree produces one of the most valuable woods in India for building purposes, and for railway sleepers. The bark is black, which gives the forest a sombre appearance, and the trees grow perfectly straight, generally to a height of 30 or 40 feet, before they divide into branches; it may be readily imagined that an elephant would find a difficulty in threading its way through the narrow passages formed by these mast-like growths. In addition to this difficulty, there were numerous clumps of the tough male bamboo, which nothing will break, and which is terribly dangerous should a runaway elephant attempt to penetrate it, as the hard wiry branches would lacerate a rider in a frightful manner. There were numerous ravines in this forest, and we kept along the margin, slowly and cautiously, peering at the same time into the depths, in the expectation of seeing the wandering tiger.
It was very perplexing; sometimes we heard the cry of the tiger in one direction, and upon reaching the spot, we heard it at a different place. I was determined not to give it up, and we worked for at least two hours, until we had thoroughly examined every ravine, and all the smaller nullahs that would have been likely hiding-places. "Past five o'clock," I exclaimed, upon looking at my watch. It was time to turn homewards, as it would be dark at six, and should we be benighted in the forest we should not find our way, neither would it be possible to ride an elephant, owing to the thick bamboo. We accordingly gave up our search for the tiger, and steered in a new direction towards the camp.
We had advanced for about half an hour through the gloomy forest, and were within about 3/4 of a mile in a direct line of the tents, when I observed a peculiarly dark shadow upon my right, about 35 yards distant, close to a dense mass of feathery bamboos. I stopped the elephant for an instant, and at the same moment the black mass moved away towards the thick cover of the foliage.
Guessing the position of the shoulder, I took a quick shot with the Paradox gun; the elephant, most fortunately, not having observed the animal.
The effect was most extraordinary; I never heard such a noise; there was a combination of roars and howls, as though a dozen tigers and lions were engaged in a Salvation Army chorus. Away went Hurri Ram, rendering it impossible for me to fire, as a large bear came straight at us, charging from the deep gloom of a bamboo clump, and growling, as it ran with the speed of a dog, direct at the elephant.
I thought we must be knocked to pieces; two or three smaller trees fortunately gave way before the terrified rush of Hurri Ram, but the power of the driving-hook was gone; although the mahout alternately drove the spike deep into his skull and hooked the sharp crook into the tender base of the ears, the elephant crashed along, threatening us with destruction, as he swept through bamboos, and appeared determined to run for miles.