The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-19
TRAPPING ELEPHANTS.
Beaters Succeed in Driving a Herd of
Thirty six Into a snare.
r. Cation WoodriHe in Harper's.


r. Cation WoodUiIIe in Hdrper's
The guiding line of the heaters has to
keep we'll away, and to be very careful to
leave no opening In the chain. We could
now and then get glimpse of the giants
Of the forest as they were moving on, led
by an enormously large female
the largest have ever seen
through the thick foliage, with its sheets
OF sunshine every now aud then play
ing upon them, and lntensifying the gem
eral surrounding darkness. At last the
men got them near the gate of the outer
Enclosure, but again they were startled by
something, and began, with loud and
frightening trumpetings, to move in side
direction. Finally, however. they neared
the gate, which, as well as the
stockade. was well hidden by bamboo
branches, the inside also being one
dense mass Of that plant, as
any bare patches had been filed by sticking
them into the ground SO we could only now
and then get a glimpse of their backs or
trunks as they raised them to break off
some obstructinR branch in their forward
progress. Mr.. Sanderson was ubiquitous,
and at last, after many anxious moments,
they passed the gate, which closed behind
them with bang, and the herd was In safe
keeping In the outer inclosure One would
fancy that now all would 20 smoothly and
serenely, but the more difficult work here
began of driving them into the small inclos-
ure As they were In q comparatively small
space, they grew more suspicious and
alarmed, and were ready to look upon every
thing in their way as dangerous to
them and to be avoided. The
heaters were now collected, and Mr.. Sander
son entered the outer Enclosure with them
to begin driving the herd into the inner
one. This outer inclosure was about half q
mile in diameter, and from this, which was
also covered with very thick jungle, they
had to be driven into the eastern corner,
where the barrier TO the inner Enclosure was
erected.
Again line was formed, and another
shot gave the signal, when the elephants
began, too, TO mere, and in the right direc-
tion. We could see all now very plainly
from our platform as the drive progressed.
Every now and then the elephants would
make a stand, when, with trunks uplifted
high in the air, they would huddle together,
not knowing in what direction to
move. Their trumpetings and shrieks,
when one of them would turn to charge q
beater, were now very frequent, and they
were getting very angry and Il-tempered.
However, they were pushed gently forward,
and by degrees were nearing the inner trap.
1t has happened that one of the herd, by
making use of the back of a comrade, who
had tumbled into the ditch, has broken
through the stockade, and 80 gained
freedom again. So all round this we're
many men stationed with guns, mostly old
matchlocks, to fire with blank charge into
their faces in case Of such a rush. They
seemed to fight very shy OF the gate, and
always, when nearing it. made off again,
but were as pertinaciously driven back to 1t
again in a circle. At last, after many futile,
attempts to get tenn in, they faced the bar
rier, and, with wild trumpstinRs, they tore
through in one dense mob. The Maharajah
Immediately cut the rope, and with terri
BILE crash, the ponderous gate descended.
They at once perceived the trap and tried a
back ward rush, and though the gate weighed
a couple Of tons, the combined force Of the
herd would naturally have most easily
smashed it, but a blank charge from Mr..
Sanderson's four-bore turned them, and a
herd of thirty-six elephants was added to
the many captured by this great sportsman.