64 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 



that the herd was four miles away. I gathered the 

 natives around me, explained all the details of the 

 drive and assigned men to the various tasks. Then 

 we started in a body to get behind the herd. Every 

 five hundred yards, I stationed a man in a tree to 

 steer the drive. 



Driving elephants at night is a slow, trying, dan- 

 gerous job. It means fighting every foot of the way 

 through dense jungle and keeping up a continual 

 hubbub of tom-toms and shouts. The elephants wish 

 to avoid the noise and they move slowly away from 

 it, crashing through the trees and vines. The men 

 who are directly behind have the easiest time, for 

 they can follow the trails broken by the elephants; 

 those on the side must cut trails with their parangs. 

 No lights can be used, and care must be taken to 

 avoid the little elephants, which roam about, investi- 

 gating the noise. If they see a man and give the 

 danger-signal, the entire herd stampedes. 



When we arrived behind the herd, I spread the 

 men out in a U formation, warning them to make 

 no noise until the signal was given. With AH stand- 

 ing near me with my express rifle, I waited until 

 darkness came; then I gave the signal and started 

 forward. Ali, Omar, the priest, my Chinese boy 

 and a few others followed along behind me, shout- 

 ing. The noise was taken up on each side of us, and 

 presently we heard the elephants moving forward, 

 throwing their great hulks against the jungle 

 growths. The night was black, and we stumbled 



