818 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. [June 1, 1900. 
AN ELEPHANT HUNT: 
IN THE SAHARAXPUR SIWAIJKS. 
The junior classos of Inipeiia! Fi.rest b^ciiool wei e 
enca-nped at Dolkliaiid on Jiiniuiiy Sorli. Tliey 
were to uiarfli on lo Beribara orly next iiiorninj^. 
But the sun of the 26tli, which waw soii:e\\hat 
late in sliewing ilself, having to pierce tliioujili a 
lieavy ehjak of n)ist, saw them imistered stiong 
at Chillawalfi, 5 miles in tlie dpiiosiie direction. 
Never was an order more welcome or more lieartily 
appreciated than the one tiiiit was circnlateii 
late in the evening; of the 25th poslponing the 
march and pf;rmittinr; tiie students lo witness tlie 
Khedda tiiat was going to be hehl in ilie Si- 
waliks the next da}', and tlie ma jority of tliem 
Bat up the greater part of tlie night through 
sheer excitement. The Khedda party in ques- 
tion helongedto the Balrauipur State. They had 
ALREADY CAPTURED ONE ELEPHANT 
in the Eas jcrn Dun, and a large number in the hill 
torests of the Garhwal district, across the Ganges, 
and had, tlie previous day, moved ironi Eeribai a to 
Chilawala in hopes of capturing those that had 
been reported to have been siglited a day or two 
back in tiie hills behind that place. 
The left bank of Cliillawali Rau pre ented to- 
day a scene very different from its wont. There 
utood, tied to the strong-rooted Zizyphus and 
other study trees close upon a hundred elephants 
of all sizes — from the gigantic Negandar Gaj to 
the newly caught liliputian baby, with whom 
Nageshwar I'arsad, another gigantic tusker is 
fond of playing. In low sheds, hastily put up 
the previous day, lay the caretakers and their 
lamilies and the beaters of the Khedda, wliile 
shouldaiios were pitched on one si-'e to accom- 
modate a small detachment of the State Cavalry 
together with the captain and his assistants, 
altogether a motley band quite 500 strong. 
Then there were a hundred camels and an ade- 
quate number of camel-men, no novelties to 
the Forest School. Add to all this the village 
folk, whom curiosity had brought there in large 
numbers. 
After we had seen all the elephants, played with 
the youngest baby, and teased and vexed others 
until long after the appointed time, 8 o'clock, 
we ourselves began to show signs of impatience 
tinged with vague forebodings of disappointment, 
when a very powerful voice was heard above 
r11 the tumult. This was the order for 
WATERING THE NEWLY-CAUGHT ELEPHANTS 
which the Mahawats proceeded to obey at once. 
Two tamed elephants were detailed to each new 
captive, one on eitlier side, with a strong hawser 
from neck to neck. The majority had been caught 
only two weeks ago, yet they did not seem to 
require much tugging or goading from their 
warders, and went to, and came back from the 
water very much of their OAvn accord. While 
this was going on, the same voice shouted out 
an order for tlie Dharwalas or beaters to re- 
ceive blank cartridges and percussion caps, and 
forthwith Jamadar Sultan Khan was seen deal- 
ing them out at the rate of six per gun. It 
was past 9 o'clock now, and our impatience was 
pitched a tone higher. We were told that 
scouts had been posted who were expected every 
moment to transmit khabbar by signal as to 
the exact position of the wild elephants. At 10 
a.m., a bugle call announced that the much 
wished for khabbar had came at last, and there- 
upon the clephantB were made ready for the 
sport. 
Anoi'.ier, and yet another bugle sound, and 
(he healers hied out and let tlie van at a fast 
pace up the Cliillawali Rau. They were about 
a humlred strong, draped in no particular uni- 
form, and aimed with fire-arms of all imaginable 
sizes iind sU^spes with the exfcption of a few stal- 
w.irt Purbias who clung afi'ectionatelj' to the 
ancestral niale-bamljoo hthis, which, by the way, 
were by no means less tffective than the guns 
for otl'ensive or defensive purposes. They were 
clos ly followed by a long line of trained ele- 
phant's, not less than sixty in number, headed 
by the fovmidaVde-looking Jamna Parsad whom 
Nanneh Khan the captain chose tor his mount, 
all marching on in profound silence. Only 
FOUR ELEPHANTS CARRIED PADS 
all the rest were to participate in the Khedda, al- 
thougii it seemed rallier incredible, for they were 
armed with nothing more formidable than a strong 
rope. The students of the Forest School were given 
a ride on these latter as far as the first halt, 
which was made where the Gadawali Sot joins 
the main Rau, about four mile.^ from the Forest 
Chauki at Chillawalla. The khabbar was to the 
effect that there were seven wild elephants near 
the liead of the Gadawali Sot. The beaters 
therefore parted company here to take up posi- 
tions alonj' the w?.ter-|iar'ing ot the Sot, and 
shortly afterwards the captain proceeded up the 
Sot, very slowly and cautiously followed by the 
students, now oti foot, witii strict injunctions 
from him not make any noise. 
We proceeded with the rest of the elephants up 
the Gadawali Sot, wliich became narrower and 
narrower as the mouths of successive tributaries 
were passed. Presently we sighted the captain 
coming towards us with a very long face, and 
we whispered to one another "what's the matter?' 
Tbe matter appeared to be very serious indeed, 
and for a while the ' long face ' malady was infec- 
tious. Before the beaters were well in posses- 
sion of the vantage points 
THE WILY HERD 
had t-cented our designs had crossed clean over to 
the next Khol, and chere was nothing for it but 
to beat a retreat with the forlorn hope of enee 
more getting near them in time tor a drive 
that day, for it was past 1 o'clock already. 
The students, who had taken up positions high 
up on the hills, were then signalled to come 
down, and were told to be particularly careful not 
to make any noise until the game was over or 
finally given up, and it must be said to their 
credit that they obeyed this order very loyally. 
Slowly then and not in an enviable frame of 
mind we came down the Gadawali Sot, and 
were once again in the main Rau, which we 
followed up for about a mile, and then entered 
a tributary to the left called the Paldwari Sot, 
This Sot splits into two about a mile from its 
mouth, leaving a triangular peninsula between 
the arms, the third side being formed by a 
precipitous cliff' the crest of which is the main 
water-parting of the Si-valik range. At the 
point of junction of the two streams there is a 
VERY STEEP KNIFE-EDGE SPUR 
on the east or left bank, and a hill with a moderate 
declivity — over which, in fact, the elephants had en- 
tered this Khol— on the opposite side. We took up 
our positions on the former, from which we 
could command a full view of the forest clad 
peninsula wliere the elephants were hiding 
Meaawhlle, the Kliedda elephants spread them- 
