June 1, 1900.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
81§ 
selves along the stieaais across wliicU alone was 
escape possible for tlieir besiejred lirethien. 
No sooner had this manoeuvre been completed 
than the guns which were so long invisible, begari 
firing from the heights overlooking the peninsula. 
Presently there was a movement in the forest, bould- 
ers rolled crashing down, bamboos and forest trees 
cracked and in a small glade we became aware of 
SEVEN WILD ELEPHANTS 
mad with fear and rushinghelter-skelter through the 
jungle. For aught we knew, they miglu have been 
in that very glade ever since we had perched 
ourselves on our hill, but the unwashed brutes 
had a grey earthy hue, very different from the 
glossy slaty black of their domesticated friends 
and looked for all the world like huge ant-hills 
or e.Nposed hill sides, both of which are com- 
mon in the locality. With incredible agility 
the well-trained Khedda elephants hemmed them 
in from all sides, and very soon succeeded in 
dividing the herd. The main tactics of the 
captain seemed to be to avoid frontal attack, 
and to cut out individuals from the herd as oppor- 
tunity offered. Each individual so cut out was 
pursued by several noosing elephants while the 
remain:ler kept guard. 
The first capture was a female infant about 
a year old, whicli was noosed with great ease 
by Mahawat Allan Khan from Gaindkali. Be- 
sides being young the baby was maimed, facts 
which discounted the value of the capture. Little 
us she was she seemed to be of a vicious temper, 
for besides giving desperate tugs at her hawser 
oftener than any other captive, it was she that 
did nearly all the trumpeting, and was most 
troublesome in sundry other ways. The nexc 
capture was the largest female in the herd, 
presumably the baby's mother who, however, 
never missed an opportunity to disavow the 
relationship. She was lassoed by Saiti from the 
neck of Vinayak Parsad, a moderate size young 
elephant, of rather a slim buiUl, who rejoices in 
only one tuck, but his, nevertheless, helped to 
capture more elephants than any of his stronger 
comrades. Next followed in quick succession 
four others, ranging from 8 to 18 years in age, 
two of which were males and two females. 
But the most exciting event of the day had 
yet to take place. Of the herd of seven, six were 
already accounted for, but 
THE HUGE TUSKER 
who was seen towering over the rest, was not foith- 
coming. He had gone up the peninsula, and 
no amount of firing had for a time any effect 
towards dislodging him. Batches ot Khedda ele- 
phants were then despatched to hunt him out. 
As soon as he sighted them the gigantic beast 
rushed down the hill with tremendous speed, 
•mashing everything before him with a terrifiic 
crash. In a moment he was down in the Kau, 
crossed it, and made straight for the hill on the 
opposite side, and it seemed for a while as if he 
would cross over again to the Gadawali Valley. 
The Khedda elephants, however, foresaw this, 
and after a hard struggle succeeded in heading 
him back to the Kau. Once in the open, he 
ran straight down the Rau with a speed which 
must be witnessed to be fully realized. The 
mugrimen hammered harder than ever, the Ma- 
hawats caused streams of gore to flow down the 
heads, ears, and trunks of their charges, and 
the race was furious and prolonged. But the 
odds weie very much against the poor wild 
brute who n at last Mahawat Bandu lassoed from 
Deo Parsad itself a splendid animal. He was 
promptly assisted by Nagendar Gaj, the pride* 
of the Khedda. Then fo'lowed a brief period 
of trumpeting trugging and rampage, which how 
ever, ceased when about a score of tame ele- 
phants closeil round him on all sides with their 
heads and all their might brought to bear on 
him. Thus reveted he was powerless to move. The 
FEARLESS MUORIMiiN 
then crept underneath his huge barrel and 
hobbled his hind It^gs wit!-, a very tiL'ht 
bandage of hawsers. Examined at close 
quarters, lie turned out to be a fine young 
animal, for he was not more th.in 35, with a 
most splendid head. Aliogeilier he was a most 
valuable capture, although the lusks were not 
particularly i)ig, owing, we were told, to his 
constantly rubbing thenj on sand or stone, and 
they had yet 10 grow. 
Thus ended a most successful Khedda ojiera- 
tioii in which neither a .-ingle elephant, wild 
or tauic, was killed or wounded, nor did any- 
thing happen to the brave men who participated 
in it, beyond a few trifling cuts and bruises 
such as they are fairly well used to. 
The modus operandi is most charmingly simple 
and judging from results, attended with a minimum 
of danger. Each elephant carries two men, the 
mahawat and an attendant called mugri-walla. 
It also carries on a small jiad a strong cotton 
rope, 20 to 25 feet long, and about 2 inches in 
diameter, one end of which is securely tied to 
the elephant's neck, the other end being formed 
into a running noose. The attendant is armed 
with a spiked woonen club about a foot-and-half 
long, with which \m beats the elephant near the 
root of its tail. Attached to the sides of the 
pad are the ends of a short rope somewhat re- 
sembling a pair of reins. The mugri-walla stands 
near the root of the elephants tail. With his 
left hand he keeps hold of the rope to maintain 
his position. With his right he vigorously plies 
the club. The manner in which he eftly avoids 
branches of trees and other obstruc ions in his 
way, now by leaning back or swinging round, 
and now by leaping over them when he is in danger 
of being brushed off, is simply marvellous. As soon 
ASA WILD KLEPHAUr 
is approached near enough, the mahawat 
lifts the noose end of the rope, hia 
attendant promptly lifis the rest of it, 
and then they together throw it over the head 
of the desired captive, who is kept runnintr oa 
ahead all the time and never given a chance to 
turn round and charge, If he has the trunk 
uplifted, which however he seldom has, the 
captors try to throw the noose round it, iu 
which case it readily slides on to the neck. But 
more generally the terrified beast carries his 
trunk closely coiled, in which case the noose 
is made wide enough to go both round the head 
and the trunk. As soon as he feels the rope 
on the trunk, he lifts it, and naturally shoots' 
ahead with great fury, both actions helping to 
bring tlii) noose well round the neck. The cap. 
turing elephant keeps running after him as fask 
as it can to prevent strangulation. Aluiost siuinl- 
taneously a second trained elephant hastens to 
the rescue, and throws another rope round the 
neck of the captive. Between the two the re- 
fractory brute is now steered pretty straight, 
and presently he finds himself surrounded by as 
many Khedda elephants as are available, ana 
completely nonplussed. From this moment, hia 
stubbornness gradually wears out, and in about 
two months' time, the whilom monarch of tho 
forests becomes a willing slave of man, perchance 
a captor of hiskin,— /nrfia/i For ester, ^a,xc\x. U.K, 
