342 THE ELEPHANT. [Part VIII. 



every beast of the earth," falls far short of the daring 

 exploit of capturing a whole herd ; when from thirty 

 to one hundred wild elephants are entrapped in one vast 

 decoy. The mode of effecting this, as it is practised in 

 Ceylon, is no doubt imitated, but with considerable 

 modifications, from the methods prevalent in various 

 parts of Incha. It was introduced by the Portuguese, 

 and continued by the Dutch, the latter of whom had 

 two elephant hunts in each year, and conducted their 

 operations on so large a scale, that the annual export, 

 after supplpng the government estabhshments, was 

 from one hundred to one hundred and fifty elephants, 

 taken principally in the vicinity of Matura, in the 

 southern province, and marched for shipment to 

 Manaar.^ 



The custom in Bengal is to construct a strong en- 

 closure (called a keddah), in the heart of the forest, 

 formed of the trunks of trees firmly secured by trans- 

 verse beams and buttresses, and leaving the gate for the 

 entrance of the elephants. A second enclosure, open- 

 ing from the first, contains water (if possible a rivulet) ; 

 and this, again, communicates with a third, which ter- 

 minates in a funnel-shaped passage, too narrow to admit 

 of an elephant turning, and within this the captives 

 being dri^^en in fine, are secured ivith ropes from the 

 outside, and led away in custody of tame ones trained for 

 the purpose. 



The keddah being thus prepared, the first operation 

 is to drive the elephants towards it, for which purpose 

 vast bodies of men fetch a compass in the forest around 

 the haunts of the herds, contracting it by degrees, till 

 they complete the enclosure of a certain area, round 

 Avhich tliey kindle fires, and cut footpaths through the 

 jungle, to enable the watchers to communicate and 

 combine. All this is performed in cautious silence 

 and by slow approaches, to avoid alarming the herd. 



1 ValemyN; Oud en Kicuw Oost-Mlien, cli. xv. p. 272. 



