THE KING'S MAHOUT 23 



cattle range. In a broad sense the elephants are 

 practically always under their eyes— a very broad 

 sense, of course, but they know where to find them 

 and the direction of their migrations. Yet some- 

 times weeks and months are spent by these ele- 

 phant catchers in rounding up and heading stray- 

 ing herds preparatory to starting the final gath- 

 ering for the drive toward Ayuthia. 



With the three herds located, perhaps five miles 

 separating the one on the extreme north from the 

 stragglers at the extreme south, the plan of consol- 

 idation was begun. For this purpose the thin 

 brown line stretched its two halves, one across the 

 north and the other to the south of the herds, while 

 the tame tuskers and their mahouts covered the 

 east approach. As the big herd was at the south, 

 the plan was to form a junction by driving the 

 two smaller ones and the scattering individuals 

 down to the larger. Beginning unobtrusively, it 

 was three days before the individuals had joined 

 the smaller herds, and it took two days more before 

 all these were headed south. Short as was the dis- 

 tance, it required six days longer to consolidate 

 those herds; patient days and anxious nights, for 

 the danger in elephant catching is the beast's ner- 

 vous, fearful temperament which subjects him to 

 ungovernable fits of panic. Writers of romance 

 to the contrary notwithstanding, the elephant is 



