BRINGING IN A PRISONER. 157 



with long green boughs, the men performing this office the 

 while singing songs and talking to them. One magnificent 

 tusker named Scott attracted much of our attention. Al- 

 though now the principal gladiator of the Khedda, he had 

 not been very long in captivity, and still retained the proud 

 free gait and high carriage of head of his wild state. Major 

 Baugh told us his behaviour before tigers was splendidly 

 steady, and that on one occasion when a tiger had attemp- 

 ted to charge him, he had actually lifted the brute with 

 his trunk and sent it spinning up for yards through the 

 air. 



The sagacity, and even enjoyment, which the domesticated 

 elephants evince in assisting at the capture of their wild 

 brethren is truly remarkable, and the more so, as many of 

 the tame ones may themselves have been roaming free in the 

 forest only a few months before. For example, it is cus- 

 tomary, on a wild elephant being captured, to conduct it 

 along to camp, or to lead it from one camping-ground to 

 another, attached by strong ropes to a Khedda elephant on 

 each side of it. These two warders hustle and jostle their 

 prisoner along, and should he show signs of becoming obstrep- 

 erous, belabour him with iron chains, which they carry with 

 their trunks for this purpose. The captive, however, gen- 

 erally submits rather peaceably to his fate, and soon becomes 

 quite tractable to the will of his two custodians. 



But to revert to our present doings on the banks of the 

 Ganges. The day after recrossing the river we were again 

 beating up the quarters of the tigress and cubs, when sud- 

 denly there was a cry of " Mukkee aya ! " (the bees have 

 come). Those who have never hunted in the Doon or Terai 

 forests can hardly imagine the startling effect this simple ex- 

 clamation sometimes has on a line of elephants. And per- 

 haps this will be best understood by relating what occurred 

 in our case on hearing it. 



In breaking through the underwood somebody had in- 

 advertently disturbed a swarm of bees, which in these 



