402 



THE ELEPHANTS. 



breaking into small fragments. But though their 

 repasts are usually accompanied with all the com- 

 forts to be derived from leisurely deliberateness they 

 do not pass off noiselessly, but are on the contrary 

 sometimes accompanied by a frightful din, as Heug- 

 lin witnessed near the upper Nile. The breaking of 

 twigs, the crash of the boughs and trees, often broken 

 through the united efforts of several individuals, the 

 chewing and breathing, the dull, roaring or growling 

 sound caused by the circulation of air or friction in 

 their huge intestines, the thumping of the ponderous 

 feet as they are stamped upon the soil, usually work- 

 ing it into a semi-fluid condition; the squirting of 

 water over the body through' the trunk, the flapping 

 of the huge ears, which are often extended as sun- 

 shades, the rubbing of the massive bodies against 

 thick tree-trunks, and the high-pitched, trumpet-like 

 sounds uttered from time to time, all these unite to 

 create a deafening concert of sound. In like pro- 

 portion to such noise is the indescribable devasta- 

 tion which a herd of Elephants is capable of inflict- 

 ing on a forest. "What the powerful foot does not 

 tread into the ground is overthrown, the strongest 

 trees are uprooted, their branches are broken; the 

 underbrush is heaped in wild confusion, as if torn 

 down by a raging whirlwind; trees which have de- 

 fied the storms of more than a hundred years, are 

 snapped short off like reeds." Boughs, of a cir- 

 cumference greater than that of a human arm, are 

 swallowed by an Elephant without difficulty. Very 

 large limbs they denude of leaves and branches en- 

 tirely or partially, leaving the wood. In dry, desert- 

 like regions they also dig up the soil, to reach the 

 succulent roots. 



Methods of In the open country, for instance in 

 Hunting Ele- southern Africa, where one can circle 

 phants. about on a well-trained Horse at any 



desired distance from the Elephant, the sportsman 

 generally uses a magazine gun, often choosing a 

 military rifle, such as the Sharp, Martini-Henry or 

 Spencer, or the heavier calibers of the Winchester 

 pattern, the rapid fire of these arms rendering them 

 capable of hitting the animal with a great many 

 bullets in quick succession until it falls. Wherever 

 the prevalence of the pestiferous Tsetse Fly renders 

 the use of Horses impossible, or where by reason 

 of the obstructions of forests or undergrowth the 

 movements of a mounted huntsman are impeded, 

 the Elephant hunter generally travels on foot and 

 uses a smooth-bore gun of heavy Caliber, or else a 

 ponderous double rifle. As the hunter generally ap- 

 proaches close to the quarry in the thicket and fires 

 at short range, usually at a distance of some thirty 

 paces, aiming with unerring precision at the most 

 vulnerable part of the body (ordinarily, if the posi- 

 tion of the game allows, midway between the ear 

 and eye), a single bullet of heavy weight propelled 

 by a strong charge of powder usually suffices to fell 

 the most gigantic Elephant. 



Perils of Ele- The perils and privations met with 

 phant Hunt- on such hunts are so serious that 

 i"g- only the hardiest Men can endure 



them; but the danger for the sportsman is not as 

 great as one would be apt to imagine. It does hap- 

 pen though that sometimes an enraged or wounded 

 Elephant rushes at his destroyer; and it is also true 

 that occasionally hunters have breathed their last 

 under the feet of one of these forest giants. When 

 such a rrionster is in a rage the sight of it produces 

 an indelible impression, even aside from that left by 

 the swift movements of its huge bulk which make 



the ground tremble. With trunk rolled up, and ears 

 slightly extended on each side, swinging its tail in a 

 circle, it fiercely charges at the enemy; its fore part 

 seems to grow, or at any rate strikes the observer, 

 especially if he be the object of attack, as higher 

 and more powerful than ever before; the long folds 

 of skin on its hinder quarters shake and protrude; 

 the huge mass pushes on rapidly and relentlessly; 

 angry snorts alternate with cries of rage, the like of 

 which he who has never heard such sounds, can not 

 realize. If the enraged beast reaches its victim 

 under these circumstances, that object of its wrath 

 is lost — given over beyond rescue, a sacrifice to the 

 wild fury of the maddened brute. 



The extermination of the Indian Elephants is not 

 so near at hand. The regulations of thinking offi- 

 cials have modified and restricted the modes em- 

 ployed by the natives, of capturing these animals, 

 by which so many of them were crippled, and the 

 wild Elephants now enjoy complete immunity, not 

 only in the Western Ghauts, but also in the dense 

 jungles and forests extending along the foot of the 

 Himalayas to Burmah. and Siam. The number of 

 those which are annually caught by the government 

 is small, and there is no doubt that the wilderness 

 which has been given over to the thick skinned 

 creatures is at present populated as densely as is 

 either expedient or desirable. 



Methods of Trap- ^^ Africa the natives still pursue their 

 ping African hunt of the gigantic quarry as cruelly 

 Elephants. and ruthlessly as they did in the 

 ancient times. In the west of Africa, in the Ogowe 

 region, the Negroes twine creepers from tree to tree 

 in the form of hurdles, drive the Elephants into 

 those parts of the forest which they have thus en- 

 closed, and when the animals stop in indecision in 

 front of the barrier formed by the interlaced creep- 

 ers, they thrust hundreds of spears into the bodies 

 of the strongest and largest, until they fall. It is 

 more usual, though, to construct such a fence in a 

 wide circular course, leaving a point open for the en- 

 trance and then, with all possible speed, to complete 

 the enclosure, when some of the Elephants have 

 inadvertently wandered in or have been driven in. 

 Sentinels are then posted all around, and fires are 

 lighted in order to frighten back those animals which 

 have come too near the fence. Though the smallest 

 Elephant could easily break through the loose and 

 weak enclosure and escape from the poorly armed 

 natives, the captive animals do not dare to try to 

 escape. They are completely starved by the patient 

 hunters, shot at, made targets of a constant shower 

 of spears, and finally succumb either from wounds or 

 hunger, having reached a state of utmost exhaustion. 

 Method of Domes- T^i^^ mode of procedure for the cap- 

 ticating Asiatic ture of living Elephants with a view 

 Elephants. to taming them and training the wild 

 beast to the service of Man, is much more attractive 

 and humane than any other kind of hunt. The 

 Indians have perfectly mastered this art. Among 

 them are regular professional Elephant catchers, 

 called "panikis," who follow the trail of an Elephant 

 as a good Hound tracks a Stag; traces imperceptible 

 to other eyes are to them distinctly legible pages 

 of a book to be unerringly construed. Their only 

 appliance is a strong, elastic noose of Deer or Buf- 

 falo hide, which the hunter, if he be alone, casts 

 around the Elephant's foot. Sometimes a couple will 

 follow the animal with noiseless tread and ensnare it 

 at an opportune moment, or even wind the noose 

 themselves around two of its legs as the Elephant 



