THE ELEPHANT. 25 



The elephant, when tamed, becomes the mod 

 gentle and moft obedient of all domeftic animals. 

 He isfo fond of his keeper, that he carefles him, 

 and anticipates his commands, by forefeeing e- 



very 



ter taking fome necefTary precautions, they carry him off, ac- 

 companied with two tame elephants, to mow him a proper ex- 

 ample, or to chaftife him, if he rebels. There are many o- 



ther methods of hunting elephants ; for every country has its 

 own mode; Relation d' tin voyage par Thevenot, torn. 3. />. 1 3 1- — ■ 

 The inhabitants of Ceylon dig pretty deep ditches, which they 

 cover with thin planks and draw. During the night, the ele- 

 phants, having nofufpicion of the deceit, come upon the planks, 

 and fall into the ditch, from which they are unable to efcape, 

 but would infallibly perifh by hunger, if visuals were not 

 brought to him by Haves, to whom they gradually become ac- 

 cuftomed, and at laft are rendered fo tame, that they are 

 brought to Goa, and other adjacent countries, to gain theirown 

 livelihood and that of their mailers ; Divers memoires touchant 

 les Indes Orientates, premier difcours y torn. 2. p. 257. Recueil des 

 voyages de la Co?npagnie des Indes, A?vft. r 7 1 1 . As the Euro- 

 peans give a high price for elephants teeth, the love of gain 

 arms the Negroes perpetually againil thefe animals. For this 

 fpecies of hunting they fometimes £ (Tenable in great bodies, 

 with their arrows and darts. But the moit common and molt 

 fuccefsful method is that of digging ditches in the woods, be- 

 caufe they are never deceived in diltinguiihing the track of the 



elephants. There are two methods of taking thefe animals, 



either by digging ditches and covering them with the branches 

 of trees, into whichthe creatures inadvertently fall, or by hunt- 

 ing them, which is performed in the following manner. In the 

 idand of Ceylon, where the elephants are very numerous, the 

 hunters keep female elephants, which they call alias. As foon 

 as they learn that there are wild elephants in any place, they 

 repair thither, accompanied with two of thefe alias, which, 

 whenever a male is difcovered, they let loofe. The females 

 come up on each fide of him, and, keeping him in the middle, 

 fqueeze him fo hard that he cannot efcape ; Voyage cPOritnt, dig. 

 P.- Philippe de la tres-fainte Trixite, p. 361. 



