NETTING DANGEROUS ANIMALS. 23 



country which the game, when driven, is expected to take ; a man is posted 

 in ambush here and there behind the line of nets, and the remainder drive 

 the jungle. The animals generally gallop into the nets, their heads become 

 entangled in the meshes, the net falls and envelopes them, and they are 

 speared while struggling. Powerful animals, as sambur deer, large boars, 

 &c., often tear through the nets, and tigers and bears occasionally bite the 

 rope. When much hunted, beasts grow cunning, and frequently break 

 back ; or when one knocks the net down the others make for the gap and 

 escape at that point. 



With tigers, panthers, and bears, a different plan is pursued to that 

 adopted for deer and pig. The Oopligas of ]\Iorlay had seldom molested 

 dangerous animals before I hunted with them, but I showed them how the 

 Torrea caste in Heggadevan-kort^ surround and kill tigers, &c., and we soon 

 disposed of a good many. An animal is tracked to his lair ; a circle of nets 

 is then formed round him at some distance, in perfect silence, during the 

 heat of the day : and he is either shot when roused, or speared as he 

 precipitates himself against the nets. I shall speak further of this sport 

 in treating of the tiger. 



From their constant experience with game, the Oopligas soon became 

 excellent assistants in elephant-catching. They had been accustomed from 

 cliildhood to guard their fields against elephants at night, so did not fear 

 them much, and if well led always behaved boldly. When the elephants 

 were especially troublesome before I came to Morlay the men used to drive 

 them with horns and tomtoms to the hills. As an instance of the pertina- 

 city of elephants on occasions, they once drove an unusually troublesome 

 herd (which we subsequently caught in June 1874) into the hills, and as 

 it rained heavily that night, and there seemed to be no immediate fear of 

 elephants, the field-watchers were withdrawn. In the morning they found 

 some of the joivdrcc {Sorghum vulgarc, the Indian maize) fields had been 

 destroyed by the same elephants, which were in their original position again 

 in the jungle close at hand ! 



About thirty years ago there was one particular male elephant which caused 

 the Morlayites much loss by constantly feeding in their rice-fields. One 

 morning he was seen close to the village about daybreak, when such a hue 

 and cry was raised that in his fright the elephant attempted to cross a strip 

 of morass which bordered the rice-fields and lay in the most direct route to 

 the jungle. The surface of the bog gave way when he was half-way over, 

 and he sank through to his middle. His pursuers pelted him with stones 

 and cudgels, till, it becoming evident he could not extricate himself, some of 

 the boldest approached and threw bundles of straw upon him, and then fired 



