ELEPHANT, 
•133 
them in the evening with four koomkees, the num- 
ber of w hich each hunting party' consists. When 
the nights are dark., the male elephants are disco- 
vered by the noise they make in cleaning their 
food, which they do by whisking and striking it 
against their fore legs ; and in the moon- light; 
nights they may be seen distinctly at some dis- 
tance. * 
As soon as the hunters have determined on the 
animal they mean to secure, three of the koom~ 
kees are conducted silently and slowly, at a little 
distance from each other, near to the place where 
he is feeding. The koomkees advance very cau- 
tiously, feeding as they go along, and appear like 
wild elephants that have strayed from the forest. 
When the male perceives them approaching, if he 
takes the alarm, and is viciously inclined, he beats 
the ground with his trunk, and makes a noise, 
shewing evident marks of his displeasure, and that 
he will not allow them to approach nearer. In 
this case, if they persist, he will immediately attack 
and gore them with his tusks; for which reason 
they take care to retreat in good time. He, how- 
ever, generally allows them to approach, and 
sometimes even advances to meet them. 
The drivers now conduct two of the females, 
one on each side, close to him, and make them 
press themselves gently against his neck and shoul- 
ders ; the third female then comes up, and places 
herself directly across his tail. In this situation, 
far from suspecting any design against his liberty, 
he begins to toy with the females, and caresses 
them with his trunk. While thus engaged, the 
fourth female is brought near, attended by proper 
assistants, furnished with ropes, who immediately 
get under the belly of the animal at the tail, and 
put a slight rope round his legs. If he takes 
lio notice of this slight confinement, the hunters 
