54 



KIDD'S LONDON JOURNAL. 



beasts turned back, shrinking from contact with 

 the little wands. Point after point was thus 

 tried, but all in vain ; the snowy magic sticks 

 were thick within the jungle, and silently beat 

 back the advancing foe. 



While the two scouts were thus engaged on 

 their exploring expedition, the tame elephants 

 approached the remainder of the herd, and 

 walked slowly round them, shaking their shaggy 

 ears, and waving high in air their curling 

 trunks, as though they would say, " Move at 

 your peril." One of the captives, a somewhat 

 juvenile and unsophisticated elephant, ventured 

 to move from the side of its maternal parent, to 

 take a survey of our stand, when tame elephant 

 Number One went up to the offender, and sent 

 him back with an enormous flea in his ear ; 

 tame elephant Number Two bestowing at the 

 same moment a smart tap on the skull. 



Busier work was at hand. The scouts, evi- 

 dently disgusted with the result of their opera- 

 tions upon the outworks, appeared to be preparing 

 for a sortie, and treated with the most reckless 

 levity the admonitory taps of the elephant 

 policemen; which however seemed to be far 

 less unpleasant to them than a tickle on the 

 snout from one of the pigmy white wands. It 

 was plain that they intended to carry their ob- 

 ject by a coup de trunk ; but a score of rifles 

 peered forth. The ladies shut their eyes, and 

 stopped their ears : an elderly gentleman, at my 

 elbow, asked, in a tremulous whisper, " what the 

 guns were for ? " The inquiry was replied to by 

 a loud trumpeting from one of the pair of rebels 

 — a harsh screaming roar, like the hollow sound 

 of a strained railway whistle, very much out of 

 repair. We had scarcely time to look at the 

 poor brute creating this disturbance, when we 

 heard the sharp crack of a dozen rifles around 

 us — so sharp indeed, that our eyes blinked 

 again. Down tumbled one of the monsters, 

 with thick torrents of hot, savage blood, pouring 

 from many a wound about his head and neck. 

 His companion was not so easily disposed of, 

 though badly wounded. Lifting his enormous 

 trunk in the air, and bellowing forth a scream of 

 defiance, he made a rush at the jungle-wall. 

 The two elephantine policemen, who had been 

 narrowly observing his proceedings, then cut in 

 between him and the ramparts, and succeeded in 

 turning him from his purpose ; but only to cause 

 him to renew his fierce attack upon another part 

 of the defences. He rushed, at full speed, upon 

 the part where our stand was erected, screaming 

 and tearing up the earth, and lashing his great 

 trunk about him, as a schoolboy would a piece of 

 Avhipcord. I felt alarmed. It seemed as though 

 our frail tenement must yield at the first touch 

 from the mighty on-coming mass of flesh, bone, 

 and muscle. Ladies shrieked and fainted by the 

 dozen: gentlemen scrambled over each other 

 towards the stairs, where a decidedly downward 

 tendency was exhibited. I would have given a 

 trifle, just then, to have taken the seat occupied 

 the day before by the Judge or the Collector, 

 high amongst the branches. But in much less 

 time than I take to relate it, the furious animal, 

 smarting under many bullet wounds, had reached 

 the verge of our stand, heedless of the cracking 

 of rifles, whose leaden messengers flew round his 



head and poured down his shoulders, harmless 

 as peas. One last crack, and down the monster 

 fell, close at our feet. That shot was the work 

 of a mere lad, the little son of a Kandian corale; 

 who, coolly biding his time, had fired his piece 

 close at the creature's ear. Leaping from his 

 place, the urchin flung aside his long tapering 

 rifle, and drawing forth his girdle-knife, severed 

 the elephant's tail from the carcase, as his just 

 trophy. 



These two having been disposed of, and a 

 degree of calm restored, the general attention 

 was directed toAvards the herd, which still re- 

 mained in their original position. For a time 

 fear seemed to hold them motionless ; but when 

 the extremity of their danger rose before them, 

 a number of the boldest made a desperate rush 

 at the entrance, but were easily turned back, 

 when the watchers stirred up the great guard- 

 fire, whilst, from other parts of the Kraal, they 

 were soon repelled by an application of white 

 wands. In this way a good hour was spent, at 

 the end of which time the creatures appeared to 

 give up the idea of any further aggressive pro- 

 ceedings, and remained subdued and calm. 



A dangerous task had still to be performed 

 —that of securing the best of the herd for 

 taming. Half-a-dozen of the most active and 

 skilful of the villagers crept slowly and care- 

 fully towards the frightened group ; each 

 having a long stout cord of jungle-rope in his 

 hand, with a running noose at one end of it. 

 With stealthy cat-like steps, these daring fellows 

 went amongst the herd, making some of us 

 tremble for their safety. Each of them selected 

 one of the largest and strongest of the group, 

 behind which they crept ; and, having arranged 

 the "lasso" for action, they applied a finger gently 

 to the right heel of their beast, who feeling the 

 touch as though that of some insect, slowly raised 

 the leg, shook it, and replaced it on the ground. 

 The men, as the legs were lifted, placed the 

 running nooses beneath them, so that the ele- 

 phants were quietly trapped unknown to them- 

 selves, and with the utmost ease. The men now 

 stole rapidly away with the ends of the ropes, 

 and immediately made them fast to the ends of 

 the nearest trees . These ropes, however, were 

 far from being sufficiently strong to hold an ele- 

 phant who might put out his strength. It was 

 therefore necessary to secure them still further, 

 but by gentle means. The two tame elephants- 

 were then placed on active service; they were 

 evidently perfectly at home, and required no 

 directions for their work. Walking slowly up 

 to the nearest of the six captured animals, they 

 began to urge him towards the tree to which he 

 was fastened. At first the creature was stubborn ; 

 but a few taps on his great skull, and a mighty 

 push on his carcase, sent him a yard or two 

 nearer his destination. As he proceeded, the 

 man in charge of the rope gathered in the slack 

 of it; and so matters went on between this 

 party — a tap, a push, and a pull — until at length 

 three of the elephants were close to the tree. 

 Two other villagers then came forward with a 

 stout iron chain. The tame animals placed them- 

 selves one on each side of their prisoner, pressing 

 him between them so tightly as to prevent the 

 possibility of his moving. In a minute or two 



