i86 TRAPPING WILD ANIMALS 



the drive at that point. The Tungku and I rode on, 

 the elephant in the center, twenty-five men on each 

 side and an elephant at each end, headmen with 

 their muzzle loaders on the elephants. 



At the striking of a tom-tom we all started to 

 move toward the camp. The men were told to 

 make as much noise as they wished and believe me it 

 was a noisy crowd. They went at it heart and 

 soul, not only on account of the incentive of clear- 

 ing out of their district a lot of destructive animals, 

 but the killing of the man-eating tiger and the net r 

 making contest, the way I had gone about things 

 in general had inspired them all with the utmost 

 confidence. They believed that no possible harm 

 could come to them while with me, and my slight- 

 est wish was carried out. The drive itself is not 

 dangerous as you are fairly safe in numbers. 



With the men shouting, and cutting the under- 

 growth, and the two elephants at each end breaking 

 through, there was enough noise to 'startle and 

 drive any animal before it. Our work in extract- 

 ing whatever we caught and the putting together 

 of cages, would not allow those animals caught in 

 nets much chance to bite through or injure them- 

 selves as we could handle the most violent ones first. 



In handling and taking from the nets the smaller 

 animals a thick bamboo was used hollowed through- 

 out, about five or six feet long, with a length of 

 stout rattan, the end doubled together and run 

 through the bamboo, leaving a loop at one end 



