Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1889-09-26

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were out of his reach. and. after
trumpeting his disappointment, he
slowly retired and gave US opportunity
to come down. We left the grove as
quietly as possible, and made haste
back to camp We must move at once.
The 'rogue" elephant does not travel
about much. and his being in the
grove was a menace to us. Should he
discover our camp he would attack US
offhand We at once hitched up our
teams. struck our tents, and removed
to a grove four miles away. While
not entirely safe here, we might es-
cape observation. On two sides of Us
the approach was marshy. while on
the others it was rather broken. Next
day after our removal it rained,
and none of us left the grove.
On the morning of the second day,
just as we were rolling out of our
blankets, a cry from half a dozen
natives alarmed the camp. As rose
up and saw them looking to the west,
I turned my eyes in that direction.
and beheld a sight which made my
hair stand on end. That rogue"
elephant was on the plain about half
a mile away and making a bee line
for our camp. He was swinging his
trunk in an angry way. and his speed
was something terrific. Three or
four of us sprang to our rifles, but he
would have been among us before we
could have fired a shot had not an &C.
cident happened. He charged at us
over the marshy ground, and two
hundred feet from the wagons the
ground grew SO soft that he
sunk to his knees, tioundered ahead .
few feet and then rolled over on his
left SIDE He was out of breath with
his run and his fall, and then was the
time to take him. AS he lay there
roaring his dismay and anger, we got
out the ropes and chains and dashed
for his legs. We got nooses over both
hind legs and carried the free ends to
the nearest tree. and then we had the
old fellow for sure. He was so mad
that he actually shed tears, and he
trumpeted until he tired his machine
out After we had him fast every
man cut stick, and for two hours we
beat every part of the beast We could
reach. Moreover. we walked on
him, kicked him, called him
names, and degraded him in every
possible way. This was by the advice
of the natives. who said it would soon
break his spirit and cause him to give
up All day long the monster lay on
his side in the muck. boiling over with
rage. but helpless. He put in the
night there, too. and next morning his
spirit was broken. We cast the moose
free from one leg, got pry under his
hip, and after an hours hard work
put him on his feet and got him to
solid land. The fight had all been
taken out of him, and he would cover
whenever any one shook club at him.
When the natives washed him up a
dozen great scars were revealed on his
shoulders and TANKS as proofs that he
was fighter, and my head man, who
had lived in the elephant country all
his days, computed the beasts age at
one hundred and ten years
No animal becomes docile and
tractable as quick as the elephant
He must first be conquered by fear,
and when once he gives in you have
only an occasional tantrum to look out
for. We kept right at our captive.
flogging and bulldozing and giving
him to understand that we were boss.
and at the end of three days he was
as humble as pie. We could make no
use of him as hunter. as We had no
rig. and as none of the men had had
anaexperience in driving an elephant;
but we should have no trouble in get
ting him to the coast. and he was worth
several thousand dollars.
1t was ten days after his capture
that one of our scouts brought word
that troop of elephants had appeared
in the forest. We had suspected this
by the uneasy movements of our cap
tive. 1t did not seem possible that he
could scent his kind four or FIVE miles
away, but his actions went to prove
that such was the case. We had him
securely fastened by one hind leg, but
he did not try to break away. On the
contrary, he acted vexed and 0ut of
sorts, and now and then uttered a /
blast of defiance. 1t was easy to see
that he would have hostile greeting
for any elephant that came our way.
The troop of elephants reported by
the scout numbered thirteen. and were
FIVE or six miles above us. MIR. Will |
Jams. my assistant took a portion of |
the men and made a detOur so as to !
strike in behind the troop and drive |
them down. and five or six of US sta
toned ourselves at the southern limit |
of the forest. It was hoped that in |
driving the beasts back and forth |
along the narrow neck at least one |
of them might get a tumble into q