CAPTURE OF THE ELEPHANT. 737 
The inclosure into which the Elephants are driven is termed a “keddah,” and is 
ingeniously constructed of stout logs and posts, which are supported by strong buttresses, 
and are so arranged that a man can pass through the interstices between the logs. 
When the keddah is set in good order, a vast number of hunters form themselves into a 
huge circle, inclosing one or more herds of Elephants, and moving gradually towards the 
inclosure of the keddah, and arranging themselves in such a manner as to leave the 
entrance towards the keddah always open. When they have thus brought the herd to 
the proper spot, a business which will often consume several weeks, the Elephants are 
excited by shouts, the waving of hands and spears, &c., to move towards the inclosure, 
which is cunningly concealed by the trees among which it is built. If the operation 
should take place at night, the surrounding hunters are supplied with burning torches, 
while the keddah is carefully kept in darkness. Being alarmed by the noise and the 
flames, the Elephants rush instinctively to the only open space, and are thus fairly 
brought within the precincts of the keddah, from which they never emerge again save 
as captiv es. 
The terrified animals run round and round the inclosure, and often attempt a desperate 
charge, but are always driven back by the torch-bearers, who wave their flaming weapons, 
and “discourage the captured animals from their meditated assault. At last the poor 
creatures are so bewildered and fatigued, that they gather together in the centre of the 
keddah, and are then considered to be ready for the professional Elephant-hunters. 
These courageous men enter the keddah either on foot or upon the backs of their 
koomkies, and contrive to tie every one of the captives to some spot from whence it 
cannot move. Most ingenious stratagems are employed by the hunters in this perilous 
task, the details of which may be found in many works on the subject. 
When the natives hunt the Elephant merely for the sake of his ivory or his flesh, and 
do not care to take him alive, they achieve their object by stealing cautiously upon him 
as he dozes, and by gently tickling one of his hind-feet with a slight twig they induce 
him to lift the foot from the evound. As soon as he does so, the hunters, who are 
furnished with a mallet and a sharp wooden spike about eight inches in length, drive the 
spike into his foot, and effectually lame him with a single blow. He is then quite at 
their disposal, and is easily despatched. The flesh of the Elephant is thought to be very 
poor indeed ; but the heart, the tongue, the trunk, and the foot, are considered to be good 
eating if properly dressed. 
The “points” of a good Elephant are as important in India and Ceylon as those of a 
horse in Europe. In a native work upon the Elephant, quoted by Sir E. Tennent, the 
points are given as follows :—“ The softness of the skin, the red colour of the mouth and 
tongue, the forehead expanded and full, the ears large and rectangular, the trunk broad 
at the root, and blotched with pink in front, the eyes light and kindly, the cheeks large, 
the neck full, the back level, the chest square, the fore- legs short and convex in front, the 
hind quarters plump, five nails in each foot, all smooth, elastic, and round. An Elephant 
with all these perfections will impart glory and magnificence to the king.” 
The herds in which these animals congregate are not of very great size, containing 
only from ten to twenty or thirty individuals, and consisting, as is generally thought 
by men of practical experience, of members of the same “family. This opinion is 
strengthened by the fact that certain physical peculiarities, such as the shape of the 
trunk or the head, have been found in every member of the same herd. Sometimes these 
herds will associate with each other for a time, but at the smallest alarm each little flock 
assembles together independently of the others. It is rather remarkable that a whole 
herd has never been known to charge a foe simultaneously. The leader generally faces 
the enemy, while the remainder of the herd manceuvre in his rear ; but that the entire 
herd should unite in a charge, is a circumstance never yet known to occur. The Asiatic 
Elephant will permit the temporary society of other animals, and may be seen at a 
fountain or feeding on an open space in close proximity to deer and wild buffaloes, 
neither animal displaying any aversion to or fear of the other. 
Tn its general habits the Elephant is restless and irritable, or rather “ fidgety,” never 
remaining quite still, but always in motion in some way or other. At one time it will 
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