ELEPHANT. 
113 
tree, make a few turns of the phands , or long cables 
that are trailing behind him, around his trunk : his 
progress being thus stopped, he becomes furious, 
and exerts his utmost force to disengage himself ; 
nor will he then allow any of the hoovikees to come 
near him, but is outrageous for some time, falling 
down and goring the earth with his tusks. If by 
these exertions the phands are once broken, which 
sometimes is effected, and he escapes into a thick 
jungle j the drivers dare not advance for fear of the 
other wild elephants, and are therefore obliged to 
leave him to his fate ; and in this hampered situa- 
tion, it is said, he is even ungenerously attacked by 
the other wild elephants. As the cables are very 
strong, and seldom give way ; when he has exhausted 
himself by his exertions, the koomkees are again 
brought near, and take their former positions ; viz. 
one on each side, and the other behind. After 
getting him nearer the tree, the people carry the 
ends of the long cables around his legs, then back 
and about the trunk of the tree, making, if they 
can, two or three turns, so as to prevent even the 
possibility of his escape. It would be almost im- 
possible to secure an elephant in any other manner, 
as he would tear up any stake that could at the 
time be driven into the ground, and even the noise 
of doing it would frighten him : for these reasons, 
as far as I can learn, nothing less than a strong tree 
is ever trusted to by the hunters. For still further 
security, as well as to confine him from moving to 
either side, his fore-legs are tied exactly in the same 
VOL. i. I 
