324 NATURAL HISTORY READER. 



which they push through the fence at the elephants, if 

 they approach, so that the great creatures are frightened 

 and gradually collect in the middle of the inclosure, form- 

 ing a circle, with their young in the center. Then it is 

 that the wonderful skill and intelligence of the trained 

 elephants are called into use. I will give you an account 

 of this scene, drawn from a description by Sir James Ten- 

 nent, who watched the whole of one of these hunts from a 

 platform built in a tree overlooking the inclosure. 



8. After the herd was all in, the bars which secured 

 the entrance to the corral were cautiously withdrawn, and 

 two trained elephants passed stealthily in, each ridden by 

 his mahout (or driver) and one attendant, and carrying a 

 strong collar formed by coils of rope, made of cocoa-nut 

 fiber, from which hung on either side cords of elk's hide, 

 prepared with a ready noose. With them, and concealed 

 behind them, the head man of the "noosers" crept in, 

 eager to secure the honor of taking the first elephant. 



9. One of the two decoy elephants was of prodigious 

 age, having been in the service of the Dutch and English 

 governments in succession for upward of a century. The 

 other, called by her keeper "Siribeddi," was about fifty 

 years old, and distinguished for her gentleness arid docility. 

 She was a most accomplished decoy, and showed the ut- 

 most relish for the sport. Having entered the corral noise- 

 lessly, she moved along with a sly composure and an as- 

 sumed air of easy indifference, sauntering leisurely in the 

 direction of the captives, and halting now and then to pluck 

 a bunch of grass or a few leaves as she passed. 



10. As she approached the herd, they put themselves 

 in motion to receive her, and the leader, having advanced 

 in front and passed his trunk gently over her head, turned 

 and paced slowly back to his dejected companion. Siri- 

 beddi followed with the same listless step, and drew her- 

 self up close behind him, thus affording the nooser an op- 



