455 
EL1PHAS. 
alarm can always mount on the backs of the tame ele¬ 
phants, by a rope that hangs ready for the pnrpofe, and 
thus get out of his reach. When his hind legs are pro¬ 
perly fecured, they leave him to himfelf, and retire to a 
fmall diftance : as foon as the koomkees leave him, he 
attempts to follow, but finding his legs tied, he isroufed 
to.a fenfe of his fituation, and retreats towards the jungle 
or forelt; the mahotes follow at a moderate diftance, on 
the tame elephants, accompanied by a number of people, 
who, as foon as the goondah paftes near a tree, make a 
few turns of the phands, or Iqng cables, that are trailing 
behind him, around its trunk ; his progrefs being thus 
ftopt, he becomes furious, and exerts his utmoft force to 
difengage himfelf, nor will he then allow any of the 
koomkees to come near him, but is outrageous for fome 
rime, falling down and goring the earth with his tulks. 
If by thefe exertions the phands are broken, which fome- 
times is effedted, and he efcapes into the thick jungle, 
the malvotes dare not advance for fear of the other wild 
elephants, and are therefore obliged to leave him to his 
fate ; and in this hampered fituation, it is faid, he is un- 
generoufiy attacked by the other wild elephants, 
“ As the cables are very ftrong and feldom give way, 
when he has exhaufted himfelf by his exertions, the 
koomkees are again brought near, and take their former 
pofitions, viz. one on each fide, 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, fo as to prevent even the poflibility of his 
efcape. For ft ill farther fecurity, as well as to confine 
him from moving to either fide, his fore-legs are tied 
e-xadH.y in the fame manner as the hind-legs were, and 
the phands are made faft to trees or flakes driven deep 
into the earth. During the procefs of tying both the 
hind and fore legs, the fourth koomkee gives aftiftance 
where necefiary, and the people employed cautioufly 
avoid going within reach of his trunk ; and when he at¬ 
tempts to feize them, they retreat to the oppofite fide of 
the koomkees, and get on them, if necefiary, by means 
of the rope above-mentioned, which hangs ready for 
them to lay hold of. Although, by thefe means, he is per¬ 
fectly fecured and cannot efcape, yet as it would be both 
unfafe and inconvenient to allow him to remain in the 
verge of the jungle, a number of additional ropes are af¬ 
terwards put on, for the purpofe of conducting him to a 
proper ftation. When the goondah has become more 
fettled, and ate a little food with which he is fuppiied as 
foon as he is taken, the koomkees are again brought near, 
and a ftrong yop z, phara, is then put twice round his body 
like a girth, and tied behind his fhoulder; then the long 
end is carried backdole to his rump and there faftened, 
after a couple of turns more have been made round his 
body. Another cord is next faftened to the phara, and from 
thence carried under his tail like a crupper ( dooblah ), and 
brought forward and faftened by a turn or two, to each of 
the pharas, or girths, by which the whole is connected, 
and each turn of thefe cords ferves to keep the reft in 
their places. After this, a ftrong rope (the toomm ) is put 
round his buttocks, and made faft on each fide to the 
girth and crupper, fo as to confine the motion of his 
thighs, and prevent his takingafull ftep. Thefe fmaller 
ropes being properly adjufted, a couple of large cables 
(the; dools), vyith running noofes, are put round his neck, 
and after being drawn moderately tight, the noofes are fe¬ 
cured from running.defer,. and then tied to the ropes on 
each fide forming the girth and crupper already men¬ 
tioned ; and thus all thefe ropes are connected and kept 
in their proper places, without any rilk of the noofes of 
the dools becoming tight, fo as to endanger the life of the 
elephant, in his exertions to free himfelf. The ends of 
thefe cables are made faft to two koomkees, one on each 
fide of the goondah, by a couple of turns round the belly, 
clofe to the fhoulder, like a girth, where aturn is made, and 
it is then carried acrofs the cheft and faftened to the girth 
on the oppofite fide. Every thing being now ready, and 
a paftage cleared from the jungle or wood, all the ropes 
arc taken from his legs, and only the tooman remains 
round his buttocks to confine the motion of his hind legs : 
the koomkees pull him forward by the dools, and the 
people from behind urge him on. Inftead of advancing in 
the direction they with, he attempts to retreat farther into 
the jungle, he exerts all his force, falls down and tears 
the earth with his tufks, fereaming and groaning ; and 
by his violent exertions often bruifes himfelf very much, 
and inftunces happen of their furviving thefe violent ex¬ 
ertions only a few hours, or at mod a few days. In ge¬ 
neral, however, they foon become reconciled to their 
fate, will eat immediately after they are-taken, and, if 
necefiary, may be conducted from the verge of the jungle 
as foon as a paftage is cleared. When the elephant is 
brought to his proper (lation and made faft, he is treated 
with a mixture of feverity and gentlenefs, and in a few 
months (if docile) he becomes tradable, and appears 
perfectly reconciled to his fate. It appears fomewhat 
extraordinary, that though the goondah ufes his utmoft 
force to difengage himfelf when taken, and would kill 
any perfon coming within his reach, yet he never, or at 
lead feldom, attempts to hurt the females that have en- 
fnared him, but on the contrary feerns pleafed., (as often 
as they arebrought near, in order to adjuft his harnefiing, 
or move and fiacken thofe ropes which gall him,) foothed 
and comforted by them, as it were, for the lofs of his li¬ 
berty. All the elephants, foon after they are taken, are 
led out occafionally for exercife by the koomkees, which 
attend for that purpofe. 
“Having thus related the manner in which the male 
elephants, called goondahs, are fecured, I fhall next de- 
feribe the methods I have feen employed for fecuring a 
herd Of wild elephants. Female elephants 'are never 
taken fingly, but always in the herd, which confilts of 
young and old of both fexes. This noble, docile, and 
ufeful, animal, feems naturally of a focial difpolition, as 
a herd in general confifts of from about forty to one hun¬ 
dred, and is conducted under the direction of one of the 
oldeft and largeft females, called the palmai, and one of 
the largeft males. When a herd is difeovered, about 
five hundred people are employed to furround it, who di¬ 
vide themfelves into fmall parties', called chokeys, confid¬ 
ing generally of one mahote and two coolies, at the dif¬ 
tance of twenty or thirty yards from each other, and form 
an irregular circle in which the elephants are inclofed : 
each party lights a fire, and clears a foot-path to the ftation 
that is next him, by which a regular communication is 
formed through the whole circumference from one to the 
other. By this path reinforcements can immediately be 
brought to any place where an alarm is given. The firft 
circle (the dazvkee), being, thus formed, tire remaining part 
of the day and night is fpent in keeping watch by turns, 
or in cooking for themfelves and companions. Early 
next morning, one man is detached from each (lation, to 
form another circle in that direction where they wifh the 
elephants to advance. When it is finifhed, the people, 
ftationed nearefl to the new circle, put out their fires, and 
file off to the right and left, to form the advanced party, 
thus leaving an opening for the herd to advance through ; 
and by this movement both the old and new circle are 
joined, and form an oblong. The' people from behind, 
now begin fliouting and making a noife with their rattles, 
tomtoms, or drums, & c. to caufe the elephants to advance; 
and as foon as they are got within the new circle, the 
people clofe up, take their proper ftations, and pafs the 
remaining part of the day and night as before. In the 
morning the fame procefs is repeated, and in this manner 
the herd advances flowly in that direction, where they 
find themfelves lead incommoded by the noife and cla-, 
rnour of the hunters, feeding, as they go along, upon 
branches of trees, leaves of bamboos, &c. which come 
in their way. If they fufpecled any fnare, they could 
ealily break through the circle ; but this inoftenfive ani- 
