Chap. V.] 
THE ELEPHANT. 
161 
who is engaged in making fast the rope, a movement 
which it is the duty of his colleague to prevent by run- 
ning up close to the elephant's head and provoking the 
animal to confront him by irritating gesticulations and 
taunting shouts of dah! dah! a monosyllable, the sound 
of which the elephant peculiarly dislikes. Meanwhile the 
first assailant, having secured one noose, comes up from 
behind with another, with which, amidst the vain rage 
and struggles of the victim, he entraps a fore leg, the 
rope being, as before, secured to another tree in front, 
and the whole four feet having been thus entangled, the 
capture is completed. 
A shelter is then run up with branches, to protect 
their prisoner from the sun, and the hunters proceed to 
build a wigwam for themselves in front of him, kindling 
their fires for cooking, and making all the necessary ar- 
rangements for remaining day and night on the spot to 
await the process of subduing and taming his rage. In 
my journeys through the forest I have come unexpec- 
tedly on the halting place of adventurous hunters when 
thus engaged ; and on one occasion, about sunrise, in 
ascending the steep ridge from the bed of the Malwatte 
river, the foremost rider of our party was suddenly 
driven back by a furious elephant, which we found 
picketed by two Panickeas on the crest of the bank. In 
siich a position, the elephant soon ceases to struggle ; 
and what with the exhaustion of rage and resistance, 
the terror of fire which he dreads, and the constant an- 
noyance of smoke which he detests, in a very short 
time, a few weeks at the most, his spirit becomes sub- 
dued; and being plentifully supplied with plantains 
and fresh food, and indulged with water, in which he 
luxuriates, he grows so far reconciled to his keepers 
M 
