6o 
WILB BEASTS AND THEIR WAYS 
CHAP. 
that their excellent training as keddah servants 
constantly employed in the capture of wild elephants 
under their indefatigable superintendent, Mr. San¬ 
derson, rendered them capable almost instinctively 
of understanding all my ways, and we became 
excellent friends, both man and beast. 
I arranged my long line of elephants according 
to their paces and dispositions, and each day 
they preserved the same positions, so that every 
mahout knew his place, and the elephants were 
accustomed to the animals upon the right and 
left. In the centre were the slowest, and upon 
either flank were the fastest elephants, while two 
exceedingly speedy animals, with intelligent mahouts, 
invariably acted as scouts, generally a quarter of a 
mile ahead on either flank. 
My own elephant was accompanied on one side 
by Moota Gutche, on the other by a rough but 
dependable character whose name I have forgotten. 
I kept these always with me, as they were useful 
in the event of a tiger that would not bolt from 
the dense wild-rose thickets, in which case our three 
elephants could push him out. 
This arrangement was perfect, and after a few 
days’ experience our line worked with the precision 
of well-drilled cavalry; sometimes, with extra 
elephants, I had as many as fifty in the field. The 
result of this discipline was that no tiger or leopard 
ever escaped if once on foot; although hunted in 
some instances for hours, the animal was invariably 
killed. A remarkable instance of this occurred at 
