From the series of eight decorative panels by J. M. Sert, in the residence of J. M. Cosden, at Palm Beach.

-See "The Field of Art," page 571.

"In the Land

Where the Elephants Are"

. BY KERMIT ROOSEVELT

Author of "The Happy Hunting Grounds," etc.

NO. 5

ILLUSTRATIONS FROM PHOTOGRAPHS MADE BY MR. ROOSEVELT AND MR. D. S. ELLSWORTH

II

MONG the most enjoyable moments in the hunting in Mysore were the earlymorning stalks. Mahaboob Khan was indefatigable, and I have no idea when he found time to sleep. He was as full of ideas as a nut is of meat, and there were always alluring tales of tigers that had been infesting such and such a village. We sometimes arranged these early hunts by starting long before daybreak from Bhadravati and strewing our members in likely localities under the guidance of local shikarries. At other times we would all go off to some far-distant rest-house, and early next morning start each in an opposite direction. At still other times one of us would go off alone to a jungle camp, and the rest would start out from Bhadravati.

his chief secretary were desirous of putting him out of the way, and with this end in view suggested that he should go hunting a peculiarly savage bear that had been causing a lot of damage. They told the maharajah that they knew the locality, and that there would be no necessity to take guides or local hunters. Accordingly they sallied forth, each of them carrying one of the maharajah's rifles, while he strode along unarmed. As luck would have it, they soon ran upon the bear, which came ambling toward them growling. When the maharajah turned to grab a rifle from one of his companions, he found that each of them was engaged in climbing a well-selected tree. The bear was upon him, but he thrust one arm into its mouth, endeavoring to hold it off with the other. As he swayed to and fro in his struggle with the bear, he shouted to his ministers to come down and despatch the animal, but neither would budge from his perch. The maharajah was by now coming off distinctly second best in the contest, and could not have held out much longer when a wood-cutter, who had heard the shouts, came running up. The dewan, in his eagerness to ascend his tree unimpeded, had dropped the rifle he had been carrying; the maharajah had still sufficient presence of mind left to direct the woodcutter to the rifle and explain to him how to hold it against the bear and loose it off. When the bear rolled over dead, the maharajah snatched the rifle from the wood

Mahaboob Khan was possessed of a fund of anecdotes about man and beast. A number of them concerned the maharajah of K., with whom he had been hunting. This maharajah, he explained, although a Mohammedan, at one time had had a number of Brahmins holding high positions in his court; but the word Brahmin is now anathema to him. This came about because his dewan (a title corresponding roughly to prime minister) and Copyrighted in 1924 in United States, Canada, and Great Britain by Charles Scribner's Sons. Printed in New York. All rights reserved.