212 THE RIFLE AND HOUND IN CEYLON, ch/vp. ix. 



way, but this stretched like a harp-string, and at 

 every effort to break it, the yielding elasticity of the 

 hide threw him upon his head, and the sudden 

 contraction after the fall, jerked his leg back to its full 

 length. 



After many vain, but tremendous efforts to free 

 himself, he turned his rage upon his pursuers, and 

 charged everyone right and left ; but he was safely 

 tied, and we took some little pleasure in teasing him. 

 He had no more chance than a fly in a spider's web. 

 As he charged in one direction, several nooses were 

 thrown round his hind legs ; then his trunk was 

 caught in a slip-knot, then his fore legs, then his 

 neck, and the ends of all these ropes being brought 

 together and hauled tight, he was effectually hobbled. 



This had taken some time to effect (about half an 

 hour), and we now commenced a species of harness to 

 enable us to drive him to the village. 



The first thing was to secure his trunk by tying it 

 to one of his fore legs ; this leg was then fastened 

 with a slack rope to one of his hind legs, which 

 prevented him from taking a longer stride than about 

 two feet ; his neck was then tied to his other fore leg, 

 and two ropes were made fast to both his fore and hind 

 legs ; the ends of these ropes being manned by thirty 

 men. 



Having completed these arrangements, he was re- 

 leased from the ties which hobbled him. and we com- 



