AGGAJEERS. 
359 
the woods, and know very little of the use of bread, 
living entirely on the flesh of the beasts they kill, 
chiefly that of the elephant and rhinoceros. They 
are exceedingly thin, light, and agile, both on horse¬ 
back and on foot; are very swarthy, though few of 
them are black; none of them woolly-headed, and 
all of them have European features. They are 
called Aggajeers, a name of their profession, not of 
their nation, which comes from the word agar , and 
signifies to hough or hamstring with a sharp wea¬ 
pon—more properly it means the cutting of the 
tendon of the heel, and is a peculiarity of the 
manner in which they kill the elephant, which is 
shortly as follows :— 
“ Two men, absolutely naked, without any rag or 
covering at all about them, get on horseback—a pre¬ 
caution adopted for fear of being laid hold of by the 
trees or bushes, in making their escape from a very 
watchful enemy. One of these riders sits upon the 
back of the horse, sometimes with a saddle and 
sometimes without one, with only a switch or short 
stick in one hand, carefully managing the bridle 
with the other. Behind him sits his companion, 
who has no other arms but a broadsword, such 
as is used by Sclavonians, and is brought from 
Trieste. His left hand is employed in grasping the 
sword by the handle. About fourteen inches of the 
blade is covered with whipcord. This part he takes 
in his right hand, without any danger of being hurt 
by it; and, though the edge of the lower part of 
the sword is sharp as a razor, he carries it without 
a scabbard. 
