48 The Wild Elephant. 



a height is this exclusiveness carried, that even amidst 

 the terror and stupefaction of an elephant corral, when 

 an individual, detached from his own party in the melee 

 and confusion, has been driven into the enclosure along 

 with an unbroken herd, I have seen him repulsed in every 

 attempt to take refuge among them, and driven off by 

 heavy blows with their trunks as often as he attempted 

 to insinuate himself within the circle which they had 

 formed for their own security. There can be no rea- 

 sonable doubt that this jealous and exclusive policy not 

 only contributes to produce, but mainly serves to per- 

 petuate, the class of solitary elephants which are known 

 by the term goondahs, in India, and which from their 

 vicious propensities and predatory habits are called Hora, 

 or Rogues, in Ceylon. ^ 



It is believed by the Singhalese that these are either 

 individuals, who by accident have lost their former as- 

 sociates and become morose and savage from rage and 

 solitude ; or else that being naturally vicious they have 

 become daring from the yielding habits of their milder 

 companions, and eventually separated themselves from 

 the rest of the herd which had refused to associate with 



'■ The term "rogue" is scarcely suf- and in this state is called ronkedor, an 



ficiently accounted for by supposing it object of greater terror to a traveller 



to be the English equivalent for the Sin- than a hundred wild ones." (P. 142.) 



ghaleseword//onr. Inthat very curious In another passage, p. 164, he is called 



book, the Life and Adventures of ]ri\if( riaikedor, and I have seen it spelt else- 



Christopher Wolf, iate principal -whne ronguedue. Wolf does not give 



Secretary at Jaffnapatain in Ceylon^ "ronkedor" as a term peculiar to that 



see ante, note, p. 31, the author says, section of the island ; but both there and 



when a male elephant in a quarrel about elsewhere, it is obsolete at the present 



the females " is beat out of the field day, unless it be open to conjecture 



and obliged to go without a consort, he that the modern term "rogue" is a 



becomes furious and mad, killing every modification of ronquednc. 

 living creature, be it man or beast ; 



