Landseer's Etchings for Mundy's Travels in India
Image: H. 4 in × W. 6 1/2 in. (10.2 × 16.5 cm)
On April 9,1828, while chasing a wounded tiger on another hunting trip,Mundy got into a tight spot. His elephant "suddenly rushed with the greatest fury ... and falling upon his knees,nailed the tiger with his tusks to the ground." Chaos ensued in this "violence of the shock": Mundy's rifle fell (seen here by the tiger's tail); his servant was thrown out of the back seat;Mundy's second rifle accidentally went off,and its bullet nearly grazed the ear of the mahout (elephant driver). This drama is evocatively captured in Mundy's drawing,which he must have made later from memory. The tiger-with the most beautiful skin Mundy had ever seen-met an unfortunate end, and his elephant suffered severe cuts over an eye and ears.
In his journal entry, Mundy likened elephant and human behavior. Recalling an earlier incident when the elephants ran in fright upon seeing tigers, he saw this elephant's violence as another response to fear. For Mundy,elephants were like humans and displayed "that purely human vice: inconsistency."
- elephant
