ELEPHANT HUNTING, ETC. 199 



to pay the price that might be set upon it, but could not 

 persuade the Siamese to part with it. The result was war 

 and a disastrous defeat for the Siamese, resulting in the sub- 

 jugation of their country.* 



Of the various devices used in the Belgian Congo for 

 maiming and killing elephants, that employed by the 

 Bengalas, and also by the Waregas, is rather distinctive. A 

 heavy mass of wood in which is embedded a sharp, trian- 

 gular iron point, is suspended vertically at a considerable 

 height from two trees on either side of an elephant trail, 

 and one end of the line which maintains it in place is attached 

 to a block of wood placed in the middle of the trail, so that 

 a passing elephant treading upon this block will release the 

 suspended lance. Because of the great weight of the wooden 

 mass and the height from which the lance falls, the wound 

 inflicted upon the beast is a terrible and deadly one. While 

 the natives as a general rule depend upon such devices, or 

 upon their native weapons in the hunt for elephants, a very 

 few have been instructed by the Arabs in the use of firearms 

 for this purpose.! 



Elephant hunters in Sangoland, Africa, are not willing to 

 trust to their natural ability and experience alone, but are 

 great believers in the efficacy of spells and conjurations. 

 Before setting out on a hunting expedition the hunters 

 assemble at a spot where two roads cross each other; here an 

 offering of meal is made to the appropriate divinity. The 

 leader of the party then seizes a knife and makes superficial 

 cuts on various parts of the arms of each hunter; the blood 



*Johamiis Hugonis Linschotii, "India Orientalis;" Lat. trans, by Teucrides Annaeus 

 Lonicerus, Francoforti," 1599, p. 46; cap. XIX. Plates by the brothers De Bry. PI, 

 XVIII shows the King of Cochin-China riding on an elephant. Both the king and his 

 courtiers are almost nude. The sovereign was distinguished from his nobles by a richly 

 jewelled bracelet, or amulet, and by large earrings set with precious stones. 



tCollection de monographes ethnologiques, I, Les Bengala, by C. van Overbergh and E. 

 de Jonghe, Bruxelles, 1907, p. 164. 



