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JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XI. 



ground, and to put them down again in an intelligent way as 

 soon as they are told to do so. If anybody is condemned in 

 India to death and to execution by an elephant, he is tied to 

 a long rope ; the elephant urged by his driver takes the 

 delinquent upon his tusks, throws him up into the air, and 

 after he has fallen down, crushes him with his feet. They 

 know how to ignominiously bespatter anybody who angers 

 them with a dirty stinking fluid, which they bring up by 

 putting the trunk into the mouth. 



Wild elephants do much damage to trees and plants in 

 Ceilon, and kill many people ; they thrive and multiply. 

 Travellers when camping for the night make large fires, and 

 on the march beat drums and cymbals to frighten these 

 dreaded monsters. 



The Netherlanders, after a few years have taken to catching 

 elephants, and with great success. They proceed in this wise : 

 they travel to the locality selected with several hundred 

 men, taking with them some tame elephants, ropes, cords, 

 hoes, shovels, spades, and there surround a large tract of 

 forest with palisades and stout hurdlework. This enclosure 

 is very wide at one end but gradually tapers towards the 

 other, and is provided with trapdoors to secure the wild 

 elephants. A large number of drivers, shouting, beating 

 drums and cymbals, drive the wild elephants into this 

 enclosure. In the narrow part they are secured with ropes, 

 sometimes with the help of the tame ones ; and in the course 

 of time they are tamed. A wild elephant is led between 

 two tame ones to the washing place ; if he resists, the 

 tame elephants drive their tusks into his hide until he is 

 overpowered. 



Our people derive great benefit from these beasts. Not 

 only do they use them themselves, but they also sell them to 

 Moors and Persians. It is difficult to take them from the 

 land on board a vessel. The bridges, syampans, and boats are 

 covered with leaves or branches of the palm-tree, because it 

 is not easy to make them cross a bridge otherwise. As soon 

 as they are near the ship they are blindfolded, and strong 



