450 
E L E P 1^ A S. 
mil, going merely in qued of food, and not feeing any 
of the people-who fitiTound hint, and who are concealed 
by th.e thick jungle, advances without fufpicion, and 
appears only to avoid being pedered by their noife and 
din. As fire is the thing elephants feem mod afraid of 
in their wild date, and will feldom venture near if, the 
hunters always have a number of fires lighted, and par¬ 
ticularly at night, to prevent the elephants coming too 
near. 
“ In this manner the herd is gradually driven to the 
kcddak, or place where they are to be fecured. As the 
natives are extremely flow in their operations, they fel¬ 
dom bring the herd above one circle in a day, except on 
an emergency, when they exert themfelves and advance 
two circles. The feafon is then fo mild, that the people 
fleep at night by the fires they have lighted, and an ac¬ 
cident feldom happens except to dragglcrs about the 
outfkirts of the wood, who are fometimes carried off by 
tigers. The keddah, or place where the herd is to be 
fecured, is differently conftructed in different places: 
litre it confids of three enclofures, communicating with 
each other by means of narrow openings or gateways. 
The outer enclofure, where the elephants are to enter, 
is the larged:; the middle one is generally, though not 
always, the next in fize; and the third or inner is the 
ftnalled : thefe proportions, however, are not always ad¬ 
hered to in making of a keddah, nor indeed does there 
appear to me any reafon for making three enclofures; 
but as my intentions are merely to relate faffs, I fliall 
proceed to obferve, that when in the third or lad enclo¬ 
fure, the elephants are then only deemed fecure : here 
they are kept fix or eight days, and are regularly, though 
fcantily, fed from a fcaffold on the outfide, clofe to tlie 
entrance of an outlet called the roomee, which is about 
fixty feet long and very narrow, and through which the 
elephants are to be taken out one by one. Thefe enclo¬ 
fures are all pretty drong, but the third is the drongefl; 
nor are the elephants deemed fecure, as already obferved, 
till they have entered it. This enclofure has, like the 
other two, a deep ditch on the infide ; and, upon the 
bank of earth that is thrown up from the excavation, a 
row of drong pallifades of middle-fized trees is planted, 
drengthened with crofsbars, which are tied to them about 
the didance of fourteen inches from each other; and thefe 
are fupporled on the outfide by drong pods like but- 
trelfes, having one end funk in the earth, and the other 
prefling again!! the crofs bars to which they are fadened. 
When the herd is brought near to the fird enclofure, or 
baigcotc, which has two gateways towards the jungle, 
through which the elephants are to advance, (thefe as 
well as the other gateways, are difguifed with branches 
of trees and bamboos, duck in the ground fo as to give 
them the appearance of a natural jungle,) the greateft 
difficulty is to get the herd to enter this fird or outer en¬ 
clofure ; for, notwithdanding, the precautions taken to 
difguife both the entries as well as the palifade which 
furrounds this enclofure, the palmai, or leader, appears 
to'fufpeft fome fnare, from the difficulty and hefitation 
with which in general die pafles into it; but, as foon as 
fhe enters, the whole herd implicitly follows. Immedi¬ 
ately, when they are all paded the gateway, fires are 
lighted round the greated part of the enclofure, and par¬ 
ticularly at the entries, to prevent the elephants from 
returning. The hunters from without then make a ter¬ 
rible noife by diouting, beating of tomtoms, firing car¬ 
tridges, &c. to urge the herd on to the next enclofure. 
The elephants, finding themfelves enfnared, roar, and 
make a noife; but, feeing no opening except the entrance 
to the next enclofure, and which they at.fird generally 
avoid, they return to the place through which they lately 
paded, thinking, perhaps, to efcape, bu£ now find it 
drongly barricaded, and, as there is no ditch at this 
place, the hunters, to prevent their coming near and 
forcing their way, keep a line of fire condantly burning 
all along where the ditch is interrupted, and fupply it 
with fuel from the top of the palifade, and the people 
bom without make a noife, (limiting, and hallooing to 
drive them away. Whenever they turn, they find them¬ 
felves oppofed by burning fires, except towards the en¬ 
trance of the fecond enclofure, or doobraze-cot.e. After 
traverfing the baigcote for fome time, and finding no 
chance of ef'caping but through the gateway into the next 
enclofure, the leader enters, and the red follow : the gate 
is indantly flint, by people who are dationed on a fmall 
fcadbld immediately above it, and drongly barricaded, 
fires are lighted, and the fame difcordant din made and 
continued, till the herd has paded through another gate¬ 
way into the inner enclofure, or rajecotc, the gate of which 
is fecured in the fame manner as the former. Tire ele¬ 
phants, being now completely fuiTOunded on all (ides, 
and perceiving no outlet through which they can efcape,- 
appear defperate, and in their fury advance frequently 
to the ditch, in order to break down the palifade, in¬ 
flating their'trunks, fereaming louder and fliriHer than 
any trumpet, fometimes grumbling like the hollow mur¬ 
mur.of didant thunder, but, wherever they make an at¬ 
tack, they are oppofed by- lighted fires, and by the noife 
and fliouts of the hunters. As they mud remain fome 
time in this enclofure, care is always taken to have part 
of the ditch filled with water, which is (applied by a 
fmall dream, either natural, or condutted through an ar¬ 
tificial channel from fome neighbouring refervoir. The 
elephants have recourfe to this water to quench their 
third and cool themfelves after their fatigues, by fuck¬ 
ing the water into their trunks, and then (quirting it 
over every part of their bodies. While they remain in 
this enclofure, they continue fulky, and feem to meditate 
their efcape; but the hunters build huts, and form an en¬ 
campment, as it were, around them, clofe to the palifade ; 
watchmen are placed, and every precaution ufed, to pre¬ 
vent their breaking through. 
“ When the herd has continued a few days in the ked¬ 
dah, the door of the roomee is opened, into which fome 
one of the elephants is enticed to enter, by having food 
thrown fird before, and then gradually further on into 
the paflage, till the elephant has advanced far enough to 
admit of the gate being (hut. Above this wicker-gate, 
or door, two men are dationed on a fmall fcaffold, who 
throw down the food. When the elephant has paffed 
beyond the door, they give the fignal to a man who, from 
without, fluits' it by pulling a rope, and they fecure it 
■by throwing two bars that dood perpendicular on each 
fide, the one acrofs the other ; and then two limilar bars 
are thrown acrofs each other behind the door next to the 
keddah, fo that the door is in the center : for farther 
fecurity, horizontal bars are pulhed acrofs the roomee, 
through the openings of the palifades, both before and 
behind thofe erodes, to' prevent the poflibility of the 
doors being forced. The roomee is fo narrow, that a 
large elephant cannot turn in it; but, finding his retreat 
thus cut oft', he advances, and exerts his utmod force to 
break down the bars, which were previoufly put acrofs a' 
little farther on in the outlet, by running againd them, 
fereaming and roaring, and battering them, like a ram, 
by repeated blows of his head, retreating and advancing 
with the utmod fury. In his rage, lie rifes and leaps 
upon the bars with his fore-feet, and drives to break them 
down with his huge weight. In February, 1788, a large 
female elephant dropt down dead in the roomee, from 
the violent exertions flie made. When the elephant is 
fomewhat fatigued by thefe exertions, drong ropes, with 
running noofes, are placed in the outlet by the hunters; 
and as foon as.he puts a foot within the noofe, it is im¬ 
mediately drawn tight, and fadened to the palifades. 
When all his feet have been made pretty fad, two men 
place themfelves behind fome bars, that run acrofs the 
roomee, to prevent his kicking them, and with great 
caution tie his hind-legs together, by palling a cor.d al¬ 
ternately from the one to the other, like the figure 8, and 
then fadening thefe turns as above deferibed. After this. 
