Natural Hljlory of the Elephant. 1 95 



Circumftances which Induced me to attempt breeding from tame elephants, and then relate 

 the fuccefs of the experiments inftituted for this purpofe. 



The circumftances to which I allude, happened in January, 1 790, at a keddah near to 

 Comiilah, the capital of -Tiperah. 



Meflrs. Henry BuIIer and George Dowdefwell, of Chittigong, being then on a vifit at 

 Comiilah, accompanied me and feveral others, to fee a herd of elephants which had been 

 lately taken. Our vifitors then pr.opofed'a trial being made, of tying the wild elephants im- 

 mediately, in the keddah., in the manner praftifed at Chittigong, inftead of waiting till they 

 were enticed, one after another, into the narrow outlet, there to be.fecured, and led out in 

 the ufual manner*. 



This mode they recommended fo earneftly, from a conviflion of its fuperior utility t» that 

 Mr. John BuUer, to whom the keddah belonged, afiented to the trial being made, and gave 

 orders for the trained females, and proper afliftants, to go direilly within the inclofure. 

 Having but few trained females prefent, it was judged advifable to fend in a fine male 

 elephant, taken many years before, and thoroughly broke in, to afEft them, as well as to keep 

 the herd in awe. He had no fooner entered the inclofure, and been brought near the herd, 

 than, difcovering one of the females to be in heat, impelled by delire, and eager to cover 



. her, he dalhed through the herd, regardlefs of the orders and fevere difcipline of the driver, 

 and had nearly accompliflied his purpofe. The driver, being alarmed for his own fafecy, 

 exerted in vain all his ftrength, to turn him, and bring him from among the wild elephants ; 

 but the drivers of the trained females, coming fpeedily to his aiEftance, foon furrounded this 



; furious animal, and feparated him from the herd. In refentmcnt, however, of his difap- 

 pointment, he attacked a fmall koomkee^ with fuch violence as completely overturned her and 

 her rider ; and, had he not been of a particular fpecies, called mucknah, which have only 

 fmall tulks, he moft probably would Jiave transfixed, and killed her on the fpot : fortunately, 

 neither, Ihe nor her driver received any, confiderable hurt. This accident prevented the trial 

 being then made, to tie the wild elephants in the manner propofed. 



Refle£ling on the difobedience fliown by an elephant remarkably docile, and which had 



• Vide Afiatic Refearches, Vol. III. article, " Method of catching wild Elephants ;" where this procefs is 

 particularly defcribed. 



f Though fully convinced of this, I could not bring the hunters to adopt the Chittigong method, till the 

 y«ar 1794- After this, during the laft three years I remained at Tiperah, I did not lofc one elephant in 

 twenty-; whereas, by the former method, of tying them in the roowifc, near one-third of thofe taken died in 

 Jefs than a year, in confeqaence of the hurts they received from their violent cfiforts to get free, before they 

 could be properly fecured. The natives of Tiperah, and Indeed of moft parts of India, are txtremely at- 

 tached to old cuftoms ; and it was with the utmoft difficulty I prevailed on the hunters to deviate from the 

 praitice of their anceftors, thaugh the method recommended was followed at Silhet, as well as at Chittigong. 

 The method was, fimply to furround a herd, in the firft convenient place, with a ditch and palifadc ; and, 

 when this was tiniihcd, to fend in tlie koomkeei, and proper perfons to tie the wild elephants on the fpot, and 

 ttien coadutt them, one by one, through an opening in the palifade, froin the keddah, as foon as they were 

 tifd, 



been 



