130 WILD SPORTS OF BURMA AND ASSAM 



and one day when being taken for his charah, he threw his 

 mahout and prodded at him with his long sharp tusks ; by 

 wriggling on one side, the man just escaped, and the brute 

 impaled his own trunk right through. The alarm was quickly 

 given, and he was soon recaptured by the other elephants, 

 and after being securely tethered, his trunk was released, but 

 mortification set in and he died, and on examination numerous 

 bullets were found embedded in him. The truth then came 

 out. I was right in my conjecture it was D'Oyly's old beast. 

 A knowing Burman had watched the brute, and noticed that 

 he followed certain paths going to and from the cultivation, 

 so he threw down goor well impregnated with opium in the 

 paths. The elephant ate thereof, and became partially stupe- 

 fied ; he was caught and taken here and there, far away, for 

 sale, being always under the influence of opium, but everybody 

 fought shy of him, and as nobody would purchase him, the man 

 was about to turn him loose when he heard that the Govern- 

 ment wanted elephants, so first drugging him well, and 

 doubtless by means of palm-oil, he succeeded in selling him 

 and got clear away with the money some Rs. 1 500. 



Elephants take strange antipathies ; here is a case in 

 point, from the Oriental Sporting Magazine : 



" A female elephant which I had lately bought had, partly 

 from not having been long caught, and partly by bad manage- 

 ment by the mahout, so great a dislike to Europeans that she 

 was with much difficulty approached by them, even to mount 

 her ; and when feeding, she would start off if any European 

 came near her. It was supposed it was their dress which 

 alarmed her, and the plan proposed was to dress her 

 attendants like Europeans. To test this, a native, calling 

 himself a Portuguese, was sent towards her. To the surprise 

 of everybody she allowed him to approach and caress her 

 without any signs of dislike, though he was dressed in 

 European clothes. It was evident it was not the dress, but 

 the colour of the face which alarmed her. A friend and 

 myself now approached her slowly, with black crape tied over 

 our faces, and no signs of dislike were shown. While patting 

 and talking to her I slowly drew back the crape so as to 

 uncover my face. The first effect of this was the quick 



