OUR FOUR-FOOTED NEIGHBORS. 323 



4. Now, almost any trained animal, if left alone to de- 

 cide for himself in such a case, would have put down his 

 load, if he could, and walked away. But how like a faith- 

 ful and industrious man this elephant acted ! As there 

 was no room to pass, he made way, waited for the horse, 

 encouraged him to come on, and then, when he had passed, 

 took up his load again and went along. 



5. But I think the most wonderful manner in which 

 the Asiatic elephants show their intelligence and fidelity 

 is the way the tame animals help to ensnare the wild ones. 

 But for their skill and ingenuity very few elephants would 

 be captured alive. This is the way they do it. When a 

 herd of elephants is to be caught, in Ceylon, the people 

 build an inclosure called a corral. It is made of small 

 trees stuck in the ground and secured by cross-beams. It 

 is an inclosure perhaps five hundred feet long by half that 

 width ; it has only a small opening at one end. 



0. At the opening there is a gate, and from each angle 

 of the end by which the elephants are to approach, two 

 lines of the same strong fencing are continued on each side 

 and cautiously concealed among the trees. Then men go 

 beating through the woods for many miles, driving the ele- 

 phants toward this inclosure, which is easily done, for they 

 are very shy and gentle so long as they are not excited. 

 Sometimes it takes more than a month to bring together 

 forty or fifty elephants in this way, and sometimes two 

 hundred have been caught. At last, when the hunters 

 have them all within the projecting fences, they choose a 

 favorable night and suddenly light a great many fires and 

 torches, discharge guns, beat drums and tom-toms, and try 

 to drive the elephants into the corral. Sometimes the 

 whole herd will break through the fences and get away ; 

 but commonly they are driven by degrees into the corral. 



7. The moment they get inside, the gate is shut, and 

 the hunters immediately surround the corral with torches, 



