Landseer's Etchings for Mundy's Travels in India

On November 1,1828, Mundy heard a dramatic hunting story that greatly impressed him and reaffirmed the "sagacity of the elephant." Mundy described in words and a sketch (seen here) the story of the hunter who almost became prey. A British sportsman had succeeded at injuring a lion he was pursuing, and just as he was leaning forward to fire the fatal shot from his elephant's back,the front of his howdah (seat) broke. The hunter fell into "the very jaws of the furious beast." The man would have been killed had it not been saved by his elephant. The quick-thinking creature, although very scared itself,pulled a nearby tree with its trunk and repeatedly hit the lion's back, forcing the wounded beast to release its hold on the hunter.

Mundy includes in his drawing the key moments of the story he heard and conveys the chaos and near-tragedy. The angry, wounded lion is shown crouching over the hapless Englishman but is distracted by the courageous elephant pulling the tree, while the hunter's servants try to regain their balance on the elephant's back.