Contents: Introduction. Prologue. Thackeray's grandfather in Bengal/W.W. Hunter. I. Romance to realism: changing perceptions of the elephant: 1. Elephants and sport/Thomas Williamson. 2. The king of beasts/Samuel White Baker. 3. The wild elephant/John Emerson Tennent. 4. The Asiatic wild elephant/G.P. Sanderson. 5. The elephant in captivity/G.P. Sanderson. 6. A temperamental elephant/Samuel Baker. 7. Elephants/Gouglas Hamilton. 8. The elephant/A.J.O. Pollock. 9. Big game of lower Burma/F.T. Pollok. 10. Asiatic elephant/V.M. Stockley. 11. Elephants/F.W. Champion. 12. Photographing wild elephants/F.W. Champion. 13. Dev Raj and Chota Hathi/John Symington. 14. Tame elephants/Frank Nicholls. II. The most dangerous game: Indian elephants: 1. Shikar as a part of life/J.G. Elliott. 2. The mad elephant of Mandla/A. Bloomfield. 3. The narrowest escape/G.P. Sanderson. 4. The Asiatic elephant/A.A.A. Kinloch. 5. Records of sport in South India/Douglas Hamilton. 6. Elephants/A.J.O. Pollock. 7. The Indian elephant/C.E.M. Russell. 8. Charged by a Rogue elephant: a Nilgiris man-killer/E.E. Bull. 9. 'Peer Bux', the terror of Hunsur/A. Mervyn Smith. 10. Elephant/A.E. Wardrop. 11. An elephant shoot on the Baragur hills/Randolph C. Morris. 12. Elephants from above and below/H.S. Wood. 13. Sona Dant, Rogue elephant/John Symington. 14. Experiences with elephants/Frank Nicholls. III. Brushes in Burma: 1. An elephant hunt/F.T. Pollok. 2. Elephants/W.S. Thom. 3. The Indian elephant/G.P. Evans. 4. Asiatic elephant/V.M. Stockley. 5. How John Nestall escaped the elephant/S. Eardley-Wilmot. 6. Some experiences amongst elephant and the other big game of Burma 1887 to 1931/W.S. Thom. IV. The most dangerous game: encounters in Ceylon: 1. The rifle and hound in Ceylon/Samuel White Baker. 2. Brothers in arms against the game of Ceylon/Samuel White Baker. 3. Elephant shooting/J. Emerson Tennent. 4. After elephants on the Kambukenaar river/'Snaffle'. Select bibliography. Glossary.
"This comprehensive collection includes excellent descriptions of these intelligent and sagacious animals in the wild, with rare insights into elephant behaviour, anatomy and haunts, as well as the odd apocryphal story about them: is there really an elephant graveyard in Sri Lanka? Does the elephant have an extraordinary memory? Did a man-eating elephant actually exist? The book contains accounts by leading elephant-men--from Champion and Sanderson to Samuel Baker and Symington--all from works no longer readily available.
"The editor is an expert on the Asian elephant, and has worked with them for years. His scholarly introductory essay draws on a lifetime of experience for unique anecdotes and observations, even as it situates the selection in its historical context.
"illustrated with photographs, drawings, and maps, this is an informative and delightful collection." (jacket)
