ELEPHANT. 



559 



Elephant, fields and vineyards. Hence it is that various methods 

 -^""TY"""'' have been devised to gain possession of the unwieldy 



monster. The savage employs his poisoned arrow, and 

 ensnaring. , , ,~ . r J . ... . ' 



puts an end to the lingering torture by means of his lance. 



Where the use of gunpowder is known, the musket is 

 usually made use of ; but for this purpose the calibre 

 must be of a considerable size, and, in order to inflict a 

 mortal wound, the ball should strike him a little above 

 the insertion of the trunk. But this kind of sport is at- 

 tended with the greatest danger, as he is seldom brought 

 dead to the ground, and when slightly wounded pur- 

 sues with the greatest eagerness, and often with fatal 

 certainty, the author of his pain. The most simple, and 

 probably the most ancient method of catching the ele- 

 phant, is one frequently employed by savage tribes. A 

 round and deep hole is dug in the earth, near his ordi- 

 nary haunts, which is carefully covered at the mouth 

 with the branches of trees and grass, by which means 

 the unwary animal is deceived, and falls headlong into 

 the snare. But other methods are resorted to when the 

 elephant is sought after as an animal capable of being 

 trained and rendered useful to man. In what manner 

 the ancients recruited the vast hosts of these animals 

 which were attached to their armies, we are at present 

 ignorant. The practice followed at present in the dif- 

 ferent districts of Asia, and which has obtained for 

 many generations, seems to be the result of an intimate 

 knowledge of the habits of the animal, and appears to 

 be both ingenious and effective. We propose to lay be- 

 fore our readers a short account of this method, from 

 the interesting paper of Mr Corse Scott. 



Previous to an elephant hunt, which is a work of 

 great labour, a few of the more intelligent and active 

 natives are sent into the forests, for the purpose of dis- 

 covering the retreats of the animals. They endea- 

 vour to ascertain in what direction they range in the 

 greatest numbers, and where they are accustomed to 

 feed. " When a herd is discovered, about 300 people 

 are employed to surround it, who divide themselves 

 into small parties, consisting generally of three men, 

 each at the distance of twenty or thirty yards from 

 each other, and form an irregular circle, in which the 

 elephants are inclosed : each party lights a fire and 

 clears a foot path to the station that is next him, by 

 which a regular communication is soon formed through 

 the whole circumference from one to the other. By 

 this path reinforcements can immediately be brought 

 to any place where an alarm is given ; and it is also 

 necessary for the superintendants, v.-lio are always 

 going round to see that the people are alert upon their 

 posts. The first circle being thus fonned, the remain- 

 ing part of the day and night is spent in keeping 

 watch by turns, or in cooking for themselves and com- 

 panions. Early next morning, one man is detached 

 from each station, to form another circle in that direc- 

 tion, where they wish the elephants to advance. When 

 it is finished, the people, stationed nearest to the new 

 circle, put out their fires, and file off to the right and 

 left, to form the advanced party ; thus leaving an open- 

 ing for the herd to advance through, and, by this 

 movement, both the old and new circle are joined, and 

 form an oblong. The people from behind now begin 

 shouting and making a noise with their rattles, drums, 

 &c. to cause the elephants to advance ; and as soon 

 as they are got within the new circle, the people close 

 up, take their proper stations, and pass the remaining 

 part of the day and night as before. In the morning 

 the same process is repeated, and in thia manner the 

 herd advances slowly in that direction, where they 



4 



find themselves least incommoded by the noise and Elephaw. 

 clamour of the hunters, feeding, as they go along, ^^^"^ 

 upon branches of trees, &c. If they suspected any ensn .j ncr . 

 snare, they could easily break through the circle ; but 

 this inoffensive animal, going merely in quest of food, 

 and not seeing any of the people who surround him, 

 and who are concealed by the thick jungle, advances 

 without suspicion, and appears only to avoid being 

 pestered by their noise. As fire -is the tiling elephants 

 seem most afraid of in their wild state, and will sel- 

 dom venture near it, the hunters always have a num- 

 ber of fires lighted, and particularly at night, to pre- 

 vent the elephants coming too near, as well as to cook 

 their victuals and keep them warm. The centinels 

 supply these fires with fuel, especially green bamboos, 

 which are generally at hand, and which, by the crack- 

 ling and loud report they make, together with the 

 noise of the watchmen, deter the elephants from com- 

 ing near; so that the herd generally remains at a dis- 

 tance near the centre of the circle. Should they at ' 

 any time advance, the alarm is given, and all the peo- 

 ple immediately make a noise and use then- rattles, to 

 make them keep at a greater distance. In this manner 

 they are gradually brought to the Keddah, or place The Ked- 

 where they are to be secured. The Keddah is differ- dah or 

 ently constructed in different places. At Tippera it snare> 

 usually consist of three inclosures, communicating 

 with each other by means of narrow openings or gate- 

 ways. The outer inclosure, or the one next to the 

 place where the elephants are to enter, is the largest ; 

 the middle one is generally, though not always, the 

 next in size, and the third or furthermost is the smal- 

 lest ; and when in the third or last inclosure, the ele- 

 phants are then only deemed secure : here they are 

 kept six or eight days, and are regularly, though 

 scantily, fed from a scaffold on the outside, close 

 to the entrance of an outlet, which is about sixty 

 feet long and very narrow, and through which the 

 elephants are to be taken out one by one. In many 

 places this mode is not adopted ; for, as soon as 

 the herd has been surrounded by a strong palisade, 

 Knoitkee* are sent in with proper people, who tie them 

 on the spot in the same manner us is done with the 

 Goondalis or male elepliants that are taken singly. 

 These enclosures are all pretty strong, but the third is 

 the strongest, and has, like the other two, a pretty deep 

 ditch on the inside ; and, upon the bank of earth, that 

 is thrown up from the excavation, a row of strong pa- 

 lisades of middle sized trees is planted, strengthened 

 with cross bars, which are tied to them about the dis- 

 tance of fourteen inches from each other, and these are 

 supported on the outside by strong posts like buttresses, 

 having one end sunk in the earth, and the other press- 

 ing against the cross bars to which they are fastened. 

 The greatest difficulty is to get the herd to enter the 

 enclosure ; for, notwithstanding the precautions taken 

 to disguise the entry, as well as the palisade which sur- 

 rounds this inclosure, the leader now appears to sus- 

 pect some snare, from the difficulty and hesitation with 

 which in general she passes into it; but, as soon as she 

 enters, the whole herd implicitly follows. Immediate- 

 ly, when they are all passed the gateway, fires are light- 

 ed round the greatest part of the inclosure, and parti- 

 cularly at the entries, to prevent the elephants from re- 

 turning. The hunters from without then make a ter- 

 rible noise, by shouting, beating of drums, firing blunt 

 cartridges, &c. to urge the herd on to the next inclo~ 

 sure. The elephants, finding themselves ensnared, 

 scream and make a noise, but seeing no opening ex- 



