Chap. V.] 



THE ELEPHANT. 



159 



they go a-head again with renewed vigour. So delicate 

 is the sense of smell in the elephant, and so indispen- 

 sable is it to go against the wind in approaching him, 

 that on those occasions when the wind is so still that its 

 direction cannot be otherwise discerned, the Panickeas 

 will suspend the film of a gossamer to determine it and 

 shape their course accordingly. 



They are enabled by the inspection of the footmarks, 

 when impressed in soft clay, to describe the size as well 

 as the number of a herd before it is seen ; the height of 

 an elephant at the shoulder being as nearly as possible 

 twice the circumference of his fore foot. 1 



On overtaking the game their courage is as conspicuous 

 as their sagacity. If they have confidence in the sports- 

 man for whom they are finding, they will advance to 

 the very heel of the elephant, slap him on the quarter, 

 and convert his timidity into anger, till he turns upon 

 his tormentor and exposes his front to receive the bullet 

 which is awaiting him. 2 



1 Previous to the death of the 

 female elephant in the Zoological 

 Gardens, in the Eegent's Park, in 

 1851, Mr. Mitchell, the Secre- 

 tary, caused measurements to be 

 accurately made, and found the 

 statement of the Singhalese hunters 

 to be strictly correct, the height at 

 the shoulders being precisely twice 

 the circumference of the fore foot. 



2 Major Skinner, the Chief Offi- 

 cer at the head of the Commission 

 of Roads, in Ceylon, in writing to 

 me, mentions an anecdote illus- 

 trative of the daring of the Panic- 

 keas. " I once saw," he says, " a 

 very beautiful example of the con- 

 fidence with which these fellows, 

 from their knowledge of the ele- 

 phants, meet their worst defiance. 

 It was in Neuera-Kalawa ; I was 



bivouacking on the bank of a river, 

 and had been kept out so late that 

 I did not get to my tent until be- 

 tween 9 and 10 at night. On our 

 return towards it we passed several 

 single elephants making their way 

 to the nearest water, but at length 

 we came upon a large herd that had 

 taken possession of the only road 

 by which we could pass, and which 

 no intimidation would induce to 

 move off. I had some Panickeas 

 with me ; they knew the herd, and 

 counselled extreme caution. After 

 trying every device we could think 

 of for a length of time, a little old 

 Moorman of the party came to me 

 and requested we should all retire 

 to a distance. He then took a 

 couple of chules (flambeaux of dried 

 wood, or coco-nut leaves), one in 



