The Cecil Whig., 1885-11-14
BGSiGgGd III an Elephant Corral.
AN ADVENTURE IN SIAM.
BY DAVID X Err

so this is the Kings elephant corral ?
Well, it's queer place, and no mistake"
1t tcas a queer place indeed. In the
middle of a wide green meadow, SO low
that the river (already swollen by the
first floods of autumnl had begun to
overflow into it and make it swampy,
stood a vast square inclosure made of
huge logs set upright in the ground.
These strange palisades were at least
twelve feet high, and as thick as the
trunk of good SIZED tree.
Except that it had no cross pieces, the
monster rail-fcncc built by TIL: hands
of giants. And their feet seemed to have
been busy as well as their hands, for a
path, So deep and muddy that it might
almost have been calleu Il ditch, led
through the meadow up to the one mar
row entrance of the corral. Every blade
of grass had long since been troddcn
away from it, aud one could see, stamped
deep into the clay, every here and there,
huge round footprints, very nearly as
big as the tops of the posts themselves.
All around the CORA! the ground was
as fiat and green as Il ba9atelle board.
But just on the other side of the rush
ing MeNam (Mothcr of WateIs). the
broad stream OF which WAS as thick and
# u i'm
penctraLle thcket, above which three or
four stately PLAN tees rose straight up
to a height of fifty or sixty feet, like big
policemen amid crowd of boys. 1t
was regular Siamese landscape.
In this country,you know, explained
the American Consul to his English
companion, call elephants are supposed
to be the Kings private proserty, and
therefore they take special care of them.
Every year, at a certain time, a lot of
the best hunters are sent out to get the
elephants together, and when they've got
a pretty good crowd they bring them ali
down here and drive them into this cor
raj, where they are inspected by some
knowing fellow like our friend here
"Our friend here" was tall, wiry Sia
mese hunter, whose sinewy frame, free
of all clothing but il hite cotton waist
cloth, was SO lean and latEy that Gas the
American had just whispered with a
GRIM ''he looked like somebody else's
shadow gong aboat by ITSELF The Old
man was as motionlcss and silent as the
post against wlich he leaned, but tie
watchiul CLEAN Of his small black eyes
under their bushy gray hrows showed
that he was keeping a sharp look out
nevertheless.
"Then," continued the Amer lean, 'all
that are not wo:th keeping are let 80
again, and the picked ones are shut up
in that stable youder' (pointing to a
long Sled behind the corraD. Its
quite show to see them driven in, hut
if they don't come to-day, I'm afraid We
| sha n see them at all.
"II,w's that? ?'
because the foods are beginning al
ready, and in flood time neither man nor
elephant can get about at all Shall we
go inside !''
They did so, but soon wished them
selves out again. The muddicst cattle
DutcL. parlor beside this corral, which,
soaked and trampled into perfect broth
of black siGsh and puddle water, made
them both envy the bare brown limbs of
theil Siamese guide, who went pashing
right through the th!ckcst of TIC mess
without the least hesitation. AT last
they We're glad 10 lake refuge upon a
fallen log
What on carth's that place in the
middle, TO asked the Enylishma.
Ia the middle of the Like OF mud rose
something Ike rude lighthouses or a
Siamese attempt at a Noah $ ark. 1t was
a small log cabin, with window in each
of its four sides, hoisted up into the air
upon suck enormously long piles that it
looked just like house upon stills, ol a
moistruus daddy-longlcgs.
"Tnal's the Inspectors house, k,
my boy answered Mr.. t, laugh
ing; "and that worthy gentleman with
the singersnap complexion, WHO is tax
ing Il ioot-b both OF mud over Wonder, is
the Inspector himself. Some of the
newly caught elephants are apt to be
rather savage at first, so he gets up into
this pulpit to he out of hams way"
Lets go ir and look at it, suggested
Mr.. k.
This was easily done, for although the
piles supporting the hut were close
enough together to keep ont an elephant,
a man could pass between them easily
enough. Inside this new kind of cage
they found a step-ladder (tho ordinary
way of approach to a Malay or Siamesc
house) leading right up into the hut
itself,
They were still examining this queer
building-the inside of which, however,
was little more than rooted platform
when they were both startled by dis
tant noise of gruntng. snorting, and
screaming, mixed with a hoarse, harsh
sound, as if fifty crachcd trumpets we're
all blowing at once.
"Tne elephants 20 cried Mr.. t,
with look of dismay. ''What fools
we've been to stay SO long! If they get
into the corral before we can get out,
we'll be in pretty fix. Let's get back
to the boat at once"
But it was 100 late. The boat could
be seen moored snugly under the bushes
on the other side of the river, with the
Sameso boatmen fast asleep in the shade
of her awning. To stand on the bank
and shout, with. herd of enraged ele-
phants charging right down upon them,
would be certain death, for the great
mass of waving trunks and tapping ears
could already be seen in the distance.
coming nearer every moment. To run
| F., 81,