ELEPHANT HUNTING tN THE EAST INDIES. 325 



two of the balls had entered the brain, and the third had penetrated 

 the head from the root of the trunk. This feat was performed and 

 were all back in the huts, talking the matter over, in less than 

 half an hour from the time we had left them. 



The young elephants which are reared in the British Indian 

 settlements are principally produced by the females that are taken 

 wild at the time they are in calf. It does not appear that there is 

 any difficulty in the education of these little ones, who are accus- 

 tomed to a domestic state from their birth ; but that they are 

 gradually accustomed to bear burthens, and become obedient to 

 the commands of their keepers. In the kingdom of Ava, where the 

 female elephants belonging to the king are in a state of half wild- 

 ness, there is considerable trouble in reducing the young ones to 

 submission. 



When we consider the enormous strength of the elephant, 

 which enables him to break through all ordinary means of confine- 

 ment, and at the same time regard not only his ability to resist 

 any violent attack, but his sagacity to elude any common stratagem, 

 it must be evident that the business of his capture must be a task 

 requiring equal courage and activity great skill and presence of 

 mind in the individuals engaged in it and, when conducted upon 

 a large scale, a combination of human force such as is seldom used 

 except in the more prodigal game of war. 



The rudest mode of taking the elephant is by digging a pit in 

 his native forests, which is covered over with loose boa-rds and the 

 boughs and grass upon which he feeds. This is mentioned as the 

 custom of Ceylon a century ago ; and the Sieur Brue describes 

 this as the mode of taking the elephant for his flesh, by the Afri 

 cans of Senegal. Mr. Williamson states that in places where the 

 natives find the elephants destructive neighbors, they dig a pit 

 covered with a slight platform of branches and grass, towards 

 which the herd is seduced by a tame elephant, when the leading 

 pursuer is precipitated into the trap, and the remainder retire in 

 great alarm. This practice is evidently not very successful ; and 

 we apprehend that the instinctive caution of the elephant not to 

 tread upon my insecure ground must render it unavailing, except 



