Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-07-09
How Elephants and Camcls Are
Caught.

As MAY be imagined, it is not as easy to
catch an elephant as it is to catch rabbit.
Even baby elephant is n big thing" on
legs and combines as much strength as
bodily bulk. Mr. SchmutZers description
of how various animals are caught was in
teresting and will well pay TO recount
The African elephants go in drovcs of
from twenty to fifty. While thus herded
together they are safe from the attacks of
the natives. They must first be separated
from the herd before there is a chance of
capturing the young The elephant calf,
like the young of all animals follows its
mother wherever she goes. SO the only
way to get the calf from the herd is TO en-
tice its mother away. The natives do this
by making fcints at the herd on horseback
and provoking the female TO give chase.
Once separated from the herd the greatest
trouble is overcome. While one man is
attracting the mothers attention from the
front another native will ride up in the
rear, hastily dismount and, by a powerful
slash of an instrument made for the pur-
pose, hamstring the huge, unwieldy beast.
There is great danger in doing this, but
once the elephant is hamstrung the re-
mainder of the job is comparatively easy.
The old elephant is killed and the young
one fastened with ropes. The elephant
calf feeds on its mothers milk until it is
about six years old. 1t is therefore not de
sirablc to capture them under four or five
years of age, and by that time they reach II
pretty large size and combine good deal
of strength to their avoirdupois.
1t required the united strength of TWEEN
ty-six men TO overcome the last " baby"
Mr. Schmutzer captured after its mother
had been killed Ropes are tied to its legs
and made fast to trees, and the young
monster is then left for several days, and
sometimes weeks, 10 starvc and get rid of
some of his excessive strength. In few
months he becomes somewhat tamc-sO
tame that it is possible to drive and lead
him across the country to the coast.
A camel is caught differently. The ma
tives ON horseback pursue the long-neckcd
beasts as they flee in herds and lasso the
young. The lassoes used for the purpose
are made of the tough and pliable inside
bark of the bread-fruit tree. The young
camel is much more easily captured, and
is less troublesome to keep than an ele
phant. 1t soon becomes tame, and can be
led about without much effort.
The hippopotamus is an animal that has
not vet been added to the collections OF
any menagerie in Europe or America
The reason of this is that no plan has yet
been devised by which 1t can be captured
without injury. Mr. Schmutzer says tina
his men have ON several occasions disabled
one of the river horses by means o
harpoons and then taken it alive. But be
tween its amphibiOus nature and the in
juries inflicted in capture ii soon after
ward died The first man who succeeds
in capturing one of these strange animals
and landing him safely in a EuropeaI
Geological Garden will bc rich. Mr.
Schmutzer has plan in his mind by
which he intends to make another attemp
to capture one of the beasts on his mex
visit TO Africa He has desigus and trap
now being prepared in Europe which h
will take with him on his return to tn
iungles next August.-OiRciHRdti En-
qWirer.