Evening star., 1901-05-31
? Palais Royal, G & 18th Sts.
+ i s = + s a + + H s s. + e s. s. s. s s. a f. f s #s f.

the mortality from this cause In India has
been 10000 per year. In 1880 cobras alone
killed 10000 natives and 1900 head Of cat
tie. During this period the paid snake
killers destroyed 212,776 cobras. Yet this
had no perceptible effect upon the death
rate, which in 1882 was almost as high.
One reason for this loss of life is that the
natives are careless; they do not seem to
learn by experience, and walk with bare
feet through the forests and jungles which
are known to be infested with the deadly
snake: and when bitten they accept it as
the inevitable, making no effort, In many
instances. to effect cure. In Africa LOCO
natives are killed year (estimateD by
hooded snake, which was considered the
emblem of divinity in early days.
In India and Africa, where the elephant
Is to be considered an enemy of man,
this magnificent animal Is rapidly disap-
pearing. and 1t is not overstating the
gravity of the case to say that at the end
of another century these animals will be a
mere memory and classed with the mann
Pallas. In India, especially. the elephant Is
often not merely a menace to man, but to
villages and towns. Such animals are
called "rogues" and are greatly dreaded.
Rogue Elephants.
In the last fifty years they have. in mere
malicious sport, killed over 1850 natives,
hundreds of domestic animals and ruined
property valued at thousands of dollars.
Such elephants seem to be seized suddenly
with antipathy for man, and one animal
has been known to devastate and terrorze
q neighborhOod five miles square. In 1867
two large tuskers became famous as
"rogues.'' They travelled together. and
when they came upon men at work In the
field charged them at once with the great
est ferocity; when the men escaped they
would wreak their vengeance on the cuiti-
waited fields or the houses.
An elephant known the Kakankote
rogue so completely demoralfzed that local.
. <1p< h. tnho r
itants Of the district appealed to the Brit
ish government for protection. 1t first be-
gan deliberately to destroy the farms.
trampling down grain and other crops:
then it charged native village, rushing
headlong through the streets, tossing
houses and people into the air. This con-
tinued Until the elephant had complete pos
session of q strip of country about eight
miles long. including the main road be-
tween Mysore and Wynaad. All travel was
at standstill. and small squad of police
was stationed at each end Of this road to
warn travellers of the danger. When a
traveller arrived at the outpost Of the rogue
elephants domain he found numbers of ma
tives armed with tom-to and other noise
creating instruments. who offered to ac-
company him and frighten off the elephant
For five months this rogue, which was of
large size. black and hideous, with short
doubled-up tusks. defed its pursuers, and
entire country for miles about celebrated
this event: the slayer became hero, while
the feet of the rogue were placed at the
ends Of the road. where natives proclaimed
that the animal had been destroyed.
Symbol of Terror.
An elephant In the Doom, named Gunesh.
escaped from the government keepers some
years ago and for fifteen years defet capt
ure. all this time devastating fields and kill
ing men. women and children wherever it
saw them. This rogue had a chain upon one
Of Its legs which clanked as it walked, and
this sound became a symbol of terror
in the vicinity of village the people de-
serted the huts and took to the Jungle
When this elephant was finally killed it had
a black record man killer.
The methods of these "rogues'' are singu-
lar. One developed a hatred for the courier
OF the postal service, lying in wait for him
in the bush, charging him from unexpected
places and finally killing him. When the
BeeJapore canal was being built a rogue
charged the men and killed a number In a
horrible manner, tearing them limb from
limb In 1S47 elephant took possession
Of the Rangbodde Pass, which led to the
sanitarium of Neuera-eilia. Ceylon. and
completely closed 1t. Its method was to rush
out of the Jungle into party OF travellers,
seize them with its trunk and beat them
against the ground. This elephant In at
tacking one party killed the first victim
but threw the second aloft with such force
that he lodged in the branches of q tree.
from which he escaped entirely uninjured
1t Is not rare to see notices in the Ceylon
press relating to these animals One such,
taken from the Colombo Observer reads:
paid for the destruction Of the elephant
that has taken up its residence in the Raja-
walle coffee plantation. near Handy" This
animal terrified people for miles about, its
method being to come out at night and teaP
down houses It had q special grievance
against water works, and caused q damage