154 WE ENTER THE STOCKADE. 



visited by these roaming tuskers, of which more anon; and it was wonderful 

 that they never meddled with the men who were sleeping under small huts 

 of houghs, or even on the open ground, near their elephants. Some ol the 

 tame elephants were found to he in calf almost every year after their jungle- 

 trips and the clandestine visits of these stray males. 



Next day I went to the stockade, and in the afternoon Sergeant Carter 

 arrived with six elephants carrying ropes and provisions, the boats having 

 come up the Chengree under Wilson to camp No. 5 the day I left. As 

 there were still some hours of daylight the mahouts proposed to secure 

 some of the captured elephants within the stockade, especially two or 

 three that had given a good deal of trouble during the night. We there- 

 fore opened a gap in the stockade and took in the six elephants barebacked, 

 with a rope-tier holding the binding-ropes seated behind each mahout. I 

 rode the first elephant, a very fine and powerful female named Radhapeary. 

 All catching-elephants of good courage evince the greatest relish for the 

 sport of securing their wild companions, and Radhapeary quite trembled 

 with eagerness as she stepped inside and faced the wild ones. She was an 

 old hand at it, as well as at miU shiMr, or noosing, in Assam. 



Our six elephants formed abreast before the gap until it was securely 

 closed again, when we advanced towards the wild ones. They formed up 

 and showed much excitement at the sight of our elephants. A few came 

 forward to interview us, and touched ours with their trunks. I w T as driving 

 Radhapeary myself, sitting as mahout on her neck, with a rope-tier behind 

 me. Some of the men had spears, but I had only the iron driving-goad in 

 my hand. 



We pushed our elephants on with the intention of cutting off a few 

 wild ones from the main body, and whilst doing this I got in advance of 

 the others, and became separated from them. Some of the wild elephants 

 were rather impertinent, and each tame one was engaged in driving any 

 back that opposed it, when I heard a shout of " Sahib ! Sahib ! " from the 

 men perched on the stockade, and on turning saw a large wild female, an 

 old, tall, and raw-boned beast, coming straight at me from behind with her 

 trunk curled and her head up. She w T as on my near side, and in another 

 instant was upon me, but not before I had slipped round on the off side 

 of my elephant's neck, and had driven the goad into her open mouth as she 

 came down on my left thigh with her jaws. She fortunately 1 ad only 

 one tush, which was broken and blunt. She did not attempt to seize me 

 with her trunk, but to pummel me. This is the females' invariable plan 

 of punishing each other ; they put their chins on to the backs of their 

 opponent, and bore and strike with their tushes. Cases have occurred in 



