The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-08-02

who is said to know more about ele-
plants than any otherman in the world.
Through his efforts the nawab's herd
of elephants has grown to be one of the
largest in India. Frequently in the
travels of the nawab the elephant
train numbers threescore. This, of
course, is in their own country. During
the nawab's present journey around
the world, however, the elephants are
turned out to grass, SO to speak, but
the faithful Abdul, by virtue of his long
service in providing transportation
facilities for his master at home, ac-
companies him abroad and shares with
him in humble way the varied expert
ences of testing the means of transpor-
tation where elephants are not avail
able. 80.
Abdul, the elephant trainer, has
picked up quite knowledge of Eng
lish from the British officers and their
servants with whom he has come in con-
tact in different hunting expeditions, and
he told something about the methods
adopted to keep an elephant herd full
Of good animals, and also about how
the beasts are trained. The medium OF
an interpreter had to be resorted to be-
fore the interview was finished, how
ever, and the facts as ascertained are
herewith presented.
The secret of catching the elephant,
according to the authority of this serv-
ant of the nawab, is very much like
that which lures many man to his
fate. 1t is the, female elephant who is
the chief factor. When herd of wild
elephants is discovered tame female
is sent out to put in an appearance in
the neighborhood- 1t seems to make
the females back. The male elephant.
once he gets sight of this strange fe-
male Of his own kind, will leave the
other females of the herd and follow
the stranger wherever she may lead.
''And what then?" asked the reporter.
Sometimes she leads him where men
lie in wait to slip Moose over his hind
leg as he lifts it from the ground, and
sometimes she leads him into a corral.
l was once in an elephant hunt where
a single female decoyed twelve males
into trap" said the swarthy son of
the jungle.
This corral, from the description
given. seems to be much the same sort
of a thing as the climax of rabbit
drive. only on very gigantic scale.
Abdul called it ''keddah." He said il
was formed of trunks of trees in the
heart of forest, a second inclosure
leading out of the first and still an
other smaller one leading out of the
second. The best elephants in the herd
are easily decoyed by the females
through these successive Enclosures,
where they are caught with strong
ropes and then led away between two
trained captive elephants.
Sometimes there are thousand men
driving elephants toward a lseddah,
said Abdul, in answer to a query
"They make q circle round the herd,
contracting it little by little, and at
night building fires. a fresh circle
nearer to the keddah is then formed
and the elephants are. let into this from
the first one without their knowing it,
for no unnecessary noise is yet made.
The fires are kept burning because an
elephant cordially detests fame and
smoke
This sort of thing is kept up for
days and days, until the herd has been
brought sufficiently close to warrant
the making of final rush. The entire
party then closes IN at dusk with
torches and guns and kettles and
shouts, and the elephants, terribly ter
rifed, rush into the keddah, and the
opening is closed and they cannot
escape OF course they try to get out,
but the noise and the torches and
spears drive them back and they are
gradually forced in this way into the
second inelosure.
Abdul's description of what next
takes place was 20 the effect that the
elephants are first terrorized and then
fed and watered in the second inclos-
ure- This gets them into better frame
OF mind and it is there that the same
females are Introduced 10 invite the
visitors into the last and smallest in
closure, where they are finally made
captives- When once rope has been
placed around the leg OF a captive ele-
phant it is never removed or loosened
until the captive has been sufficiently
tanned TO be safely allowed some priv
ileges in the way Of partial liberty
The use OF the l1eddah in elephant
captnre." explained this experienced
Hindoo. rs not so common now as 1t
was when elephants were more plenty.
The last great drive in Rampur took
nian- ..,An rha nresent u3wab was a.