70 FOREST LIFE AND SPORT IN INDIA 
is by noosing from trained animals; and to do this 
the herd is marked down and surrounded by men on 
foot, who endeavour, by firing guns if necessary, to 
prevent it breaking through till the hunters arrive. 
On each trained elephant is a small “pad,” or stiff, 
thick mattress, and on this is carefully coiled a stout 
noosed rope; in front sits the mahout, or driver, 
armed with his iren hook, and behind stands his 
assistant with a wooden club faced with iron spikes. 
This club is an implement much dreaded by domestic 
elephants. It is vigorously applied at the root of 
the tail, and soon produces an open sore many inches 
in length ; it is a spur to induce the greatest possible 
exertion, and most elephants will respond to the 
memory of the punishment of the club, even if not 
used in recent years, when a smart blow is struck 
by the hand or foot of the rider on the pad. The 
trained elephants dash into the herd at speed, and 
uproar and confusion are paramount ; for each driver, 
incited by the reward paid for capture, selects a 
victim, and pursues it with shouts while seeking to 
throw the noose around its neck. This the wild- 
elephant endeavours to prevent with his trunk, but 
is not always quick enough; and as soon as the 
snare is over the head the tame elephant is stopped, 
and strangulation would soon ensue were not the 
rope loosened and secured from again slipping. The 
application of a second rope is then easier, and the 
unhappy captive stands with its captors fore and aft, 
with hawsers tight to prevent drifting in either 
direction. 
The mahouts naturally select from the herd 
young females of a manageable size; the largest 
