I 
216 THE ELEPHANT. 
had been occupied by parties of men armed 
with matchlocks. The object of this line 
was to drive the elephants towards a par- 
ticular narrow place, surrounded by steep 
hills, where there was abundance of food and 
water for several days. This, however, was 
not an easy task, as the animals frequently 
attempted to force the line : but it gradually 
closed on them, halting at night, and keep- 
ing up large fires to prevent their breaking 
through. At length, after ten or twelve days’ 
labour, the people succeeded in driving them 
into the intended place, when they wer® 
closely surrounded and hemmed in for several 
days. Meanwhile several hundred person® 
were busily employed at the outlet in digging 
a deep ditch, enclosing about a quarter of ^ 
mile of ground, leaving only the space of ® 
few yards, as an entrance, untouched. Two 
ditches were cut from the entrance to a hiH 
on one side, and to a rock on the other, 
