THE ELEPHANT. 43 



manner as the hind legs were, and the phands or cables are 

 made fast, one on each side, to trees or stakes driven deep into 

 the earth. During the process of tying both the hind and 

 fore legs, the fourth koomkee, or decoy elephant, gives assis- 

 tance where necessary, and the people employed cautiously 

 avoid going within reach of his trunk ; and when he attempts 

 to seize them, they retreat to the opposite side of the koom- 

 kees, and get on them if necessary, by means of the rope 

 above mentioned, which hangs ready for them to lay hold of. 



" Being thus secured, he is left, until, wearied by his fruit- 

 less exertions, he becomes more subdued. An abundant sup- 

 ply of food is placed near him ; and after he has eaten of it, 

 the necessary preparations are made to carry him off, by 

 means of additional girths and strong ropes passed round his 

 body and attached to two of the tame females. 



" Every thing being now ready, and a passage made from 

 the jungle, all the ropes are taken off his legs, and only the 

 strong rope remains round his hips to confine the motion of 

 his hind legs ; the koomkees pull him forwards by the large 

 cables, and the people from behind urge him on. In- 

 stead of advancing in the direction they wish, he attempts 

 to retreat further into the jungle ; he exerts all his force, falls 

 down, and tears the earth with his tusks, screaming and 

 groaning, and by his violent exertions often hurts and bruises 

 himself very much ; and instances happen of their surviving 

 these violent exertions only a few hours, or at most a few 

 days. In general, however, they soon become reconciled to 

 their fate, will eat immediately after they are taken, and, if 

 necessary, may be conducted from the verge of the jungle as 

 soon as a passage is cleared. When the elephant is brought 

 to his proper station and made fast, he is treated with a mix- 

 ture of severity and gentleness, and in a few months (if do- 

 cile) he becomes tractable, and appears perfectly reconciled 

 to his fate. 



"It appears somewhat extraordinary, that though the 

 goondah uses his utmost force to disengage himself when 

 taken, and would kill any person coming within his reach, 

 yet he never, or at least seldom, attempts to hurt the females 

 that have ensnared him, but on the contrary seems pleased, 

 (as often as they are brought, near, in order to adjust his har- 

 nessing, or move and slacken those ropes which gall him,) 

 soothed and comforted by them, as it were, for the loss of his 

 liberty." 



The more wholesale method of taking the wild elephants 

 by the keddah, is of course a much more complex and te- 

 dious one, often requiring a period of several weeks, and the 



