Wichita daily eagle., 1886-03-23
ON AN ELEPHANT HUNT.
HOW TO BRING DOWN THE MONARCH
OF THE JUNGLE.

A rrsvsler's Story Of the First One He
Knled-TAs Manner Of Trapping the
Beast for showmen = Meeting the
Charge Of ''Rogue."
The day shot my frst elephant, said an
old British Indian to the reporter. will al
ways be q red letter day IN my sporting cal
endar. 1t was in the island of Ceyion, that
pearl Of the Indian ocean. I bad started, in
company with q friend, from Trincomalee,
the British naval station Of the island and
perhaps the finest harbor in the world, and
after driving some forty miles into the inter-
ior we left the handy and made tracks into
the jungle We were both armed with ex-
pres rifles, which in my opinion are by far
the best weapons for elephant shooting, and
we were in hopes that ere long We would
come on the trail Of the ami, nor were we
for shortly our attention was
drawn by the native guides to the young bam-
boos on the side Of the path, which bore un-
mistakable signs that an elephant had been
feeding there. Soon we came on further evi-
dence Of his presence, and On We went, our
eyes ON the ground, toiling through the jungle
after the elephant. And, oh, the heat! And,
oh, the thirst. Every now and then we had
to halt and wipe the perspiration from our
brows, and send . native shining up q
cocoanut tree for one Of the young nuts, from
which we eagerly drank the milk, mixed with
just leetle drop Of Hennesseys three star
from our TASKS
on THE TRAIL OF SIR JUMBO
ave were hours toiling after that brute,
and thought that we would never come up to
him At last the trail lead right into sort
Of oasis of potna, or grass land, in the middle
Of which there was an island or Jungle The
trail went straight into this, 20 that we were
sure that we had Sir Jumbo at last. Ny
friend Jack P. went round to one side while /
remained on the other, and then We sent
beaters In at each end to drive the elephant
out Suddenly heard cracking of brush
wood, then q loud trumpet, and Jacks voice
shouting that the elephant had turned and
was coming ny way. l remembered well
wishing devoutly that he had gone in another
but had not much time for think
ing, as in q minute or so out came the huge
brute. He was rogue and q big one to
boot. A rogue is an elephant that has been
driven from the herd for some misconduct or
other, and he is generally mad wandering
about the country alone and doing all the
damage he can. His hand is against every
man and every mans hand is against him
A rogue elephant is the only kind you can
shoot, as the elephants in herds are very
strictly preserved by the Ceylon govern
ment.
well, when this gentleman came out o.
the jingle he gazed about him for a second or
two, and then, catching sight Of me, raised
his trunk and gave trumpet that would have
made the angel Gabriel green with envy, and
then charged right at me. Now comes the
difficult part of elephant-shooting. There i
only one vulnerable spot on Ceylon elephant.
and that is small oval spot, in size only e
few inches, just above the trunk. You nigh;
fire battery Of gstlings at any other spot
and fail to bring him down, and once J
counted eighteen bullet marks in an elephant.
skull we killed, not one Of which had proba
bly, given him more than a slight headache
When an elephant charges be raises his trunk
80 that it protects this vital spot, and ut tn,
same time trumpets shrilly, hoping by this
means, no doubt, to scare the hunter. When
be is within about ten PAGES he lowers his
trunk and at the same time brings his beac
down, after the manner Of a bull when charg
ing. Now is the time to fire, and God have
mercy on you if you miss, for the elephant
won't 1t is an anxious moment, and for one
who was but Griffin at the game it was
but pleasant. There was no friendly
tree near, and there was but little chance of
escape through the jungle If missed, as il
would require knife for me to cut through
the thick underground, while the elephant
could go through it like pack-thread.
WHEN THE ELEPHANT CANE DOWN.
"On came the elephant, the ground almost
shaking beneath his ponderous tread. Would
be never lower that trunk! stood with my
rife at the present as motionless as a statue
and, Just as he seemed to be right on me,
down went the trunk Crack. went my rife
and had to spring back q pace or two TO
prevent the huge beast from coming right on
top Of me Us he fell stone dead at my feet.
The reaction was great, my highly strung
nerves giving way when the elephant came
iown as il cut with knife, and the rifle fell
from my shaking hands. have learned bet
Ter manners since. Soon Jack came up, and
we had a regular war dance round the car
cass. The 'nigger' was sent up the nearest
,ocoanut, and We quaffed q beaker to the
pleasant passage of Jumbo's soul to the ele-
phants' heaven.
elephants are caught in what are known
Is kraals. They are caught either for use in
he public works department. for service in
The native temples, or for sale to some Euro
pean menagerie When kraal is TO be
formed word is sent to the native headman of
he village, near where the kraal is to be
L. g. a.
If beaters. When the herd to be operated on
S located, the beaters form a semi-circle and
oegin driving the animals slowly toward
he kraal At night they build watch fires,
md between them the natives patrol, armed
with white wands, which are quite sufficient
% keep the elephants from breaking through.
They gradually work them up toward the
iraal, which is an open space in the jungle,
with some stout trees growing within it. 1t
5 surrounded by strong stockade, and has
,niy narrow entrance Into this the herd
S driven.
The herd is generally led by an old bull
Elephant, and before any attempt to capture
IN elephant Is made this old gentleman mus:
,e shot. The bull got rid Of, the next thing
% do is to send in two tame elephants, with
heir mahouts, who single out the elephant to
,e captured The tame ones then 'sruddle
ip. one on each side, and profess great friend
hip for their wild companion. gradually
,ressing him or her closer and closer until
hey have him fast Then a native slips in
Underneath and quickly makes ropes fast 10
he wild ones legs, and he is dragged by the
ame elephants to the nearest tree, where,
,fter being thrown to the ground. he is
lafe 81 %. TO-
.wo or three days He is then quite tame.
md when be rises up he is no longer mon
.rch Of the forest but elephant No. go Of
he public works department or the great
Jumbo OF a travelling circus. Chicago
Herald.
rha cur>fixe EaHcr Of Nature.