The very day that he left my service, the elephant's eyes were closed,
which he did not open again in less than a fortnight, when it was
discovered that he was blind. Two small eschars, one in each eye, were
visible, which indicated pretty strongly that he had been made blind by
some sharp instrument, most probably by a heated needle. The suspicion
was very strong against the former keeper, of whom I never heard
anything after. The elephant I frequently rode on, shooting, for many
years after this, through heavy covers, intersected with ravines,
rivers, and over hollow and uneven ground, and he scarcely ever made a
false step with me, and never once tumbled. He used to touch the ground
with his trunk on every spot where his feet were to be placed, and in
so light and quick a manner as scarcely to be perceived. The _Mahout_
would often make him remove large stones, lumps of earth, or timber, out
of his way, frequently climb up and down banks that no horse could get
over. He would also occasionally break off branches of trees that were
in the way of the _Howdah_, to enable me to pass.

Although perfectly blind, he was considered one of the best sporting
elephants of his small size in the country, and he travelled at a
tolerably good rate, and was remarkably easy in his paces.




ANECDOTES OF THE TIGER.


An occurrence nearly similar happened to me soon after, which put an end
to my shooting on foot. From that time to the period of my leaving