76 THE ELEPHANT. 



In the midst of some forest, abounding with elephants, a large 

 piece of ground is marked out, and surrounded with strong pal- 

 isades, interwoven with large branches of trees : one end of 

 this inclosure is narrow, from which it opens gradually, so as to 

 take in a considerable extent of country. On this occasion, 

 some thousands of men are employed, who place themselves in 

 such a manner as to prevent the wild elephants from making 

 their escape. They then kindle large fires, of which these ani- 

 mals are exceedingly afraid, and make, at the same time, a dread- 

 ful noise with drums, and other discordant instruments, to increase 

 their terror. Another party, consisting of some thousands, with 

 the aid of tame female elephants, trained for the purpose, drive 

 the wild ones slowly towards the entrance of the inclosure, the 

 whole train of hunters closing in after them, shouting and making 

 loud noises, till they are driven, by insensible degrees, into the 

 narrow part, through which there is an opening into a smaller 

 space, strongly fenced in and guarded on all sides. As soon as 

 one of the wild elephants enters this narrow passage, a strong 

 bar closes it from behind, and he finds himself completely en- 

 vironed. 



On the top of this passage, some of the huntsmen stand with 

 goads in their hands, urging the animal forward to the end of 

 the passage, where there is just room enough for him to go 

 through. He is then received into the custody of two tame 

 elephants, which stand one on each side, and press him into the 

 service : if he be likely to prove refractory, they begin to beat 

 him with their trunks, till he is reduced to obedience, and suffers 

 himself to be led to a tree, where he is bound by the leg with 

 stout thongs made of untanned elk-skin. The tame elephants 

 are then led back to the inclosure ; and other wild ones are 

 brought to submission in the same manner. 



They are all suffered to remain fast to the trees for several 

 days. Attendants are placed by the side of each elephant, thus 

 caught and confined, who supply him by little and little with 

 food, till he is gradually brought to be sensible of kindness and 

 caresses. In the space of fourteen days, his subjugation is com- 

 pleted. He then becomes attached to his keeper, and quietly 

 resigns his prodigious strength to the service of man. 



It is a singular circumstance in the history of this extraordi- 

 nary quadruped, that, in a state of subjection, it is invariably 

 barren ; and though it has for ages been reduced under the do- 

 minion of man, it has never been known to breed ; it conse- 

 quently follows, that of the vast quantities of elephants tamed 

 and trained to human purposes, there is not one that has not 

 been originally wild : this would seem to indicate that it is not 

 one of the creatures which nature primarily designed for the 



