Semi-weekly herald., 1910-04-18

hunters without more ado. and the
most diabollcal combination OF shout.
ing and fireworks will not prevent
their breaking back through the beat
ers
Issuing from the ford at their ia.
miliar landing place, the elephants al
once entered the wide mouth of a
nnelshaped stockade, strongly built
with The stems of young trees. with
brushwood inerlaced to conceal the
strategem from the unwary animals. A
minute later they entered small,
palisaded inclosure at the end of the
funnel, and a heavy gate Immediately
fell down and closed the entrance. The
elephants were now in a circular stock
ade OF only about forty feet in diane
ter There were fourteen OF them.
and as the spectators mounted the
platform erected on The outside Of the
palisade scene OF wild interest met
the eye. The poor trapped beasts
ing struggling mob Fires and torch
es sent out terrifying glare through
the aperatures OF the barricade, and
the captiyes buddled together and
stroye to hide their frightened eyes
from the light with piiiful signs Of
fear and distress. There was one
large but not fully grown tusker and
one huge female; the remaining twelve
were mostly OF a size or two smaller.
and three were almost babies, one OF
them standing no higher than don.
key. and appearing 10 have but little
chance Of surviving the grinding crush
The great beasts packed themselves
together exactly like Rugby foot
bail serum. At one moment, with their
heads TO the center, they would be
showing against each other and wheel
ing about in the center of the stock.
ade; at another the leaders would ap-
ply their heads 10 portion OF the
BARRIERS. and the remainder. pushing
behind the whole pack, would throw
their weight against the timbers In a
vain effort to force passage. The
behavior of these elephants was ex.
traordinarlly nj variance with the al.
most human sense and cleverness
which we associate with those trained
to the service of man. A few angry
pulls with their trunks would have
demolished the stoekade but the no
lion of such n thing never occurred to
the captives.
Most pathetic were the struggles
o. the little ones to keep under the
protection of their mothers, and to the
cnlookers il was constant source OF
wonder to see them emerge from the
center OF the heaviest crush unhnrt.
1t is said that even the smallest baby
among the elephants never gets crush.
ed to death in the keddah. The big
beasts instinctively protect them. and
the littlest fellows find safety by shel.
tering under their mothers huge bod.
les. The signs of affection between
the mother and their young are a
touching sight. Ii is related that at
u large keddah In the Jungle near
here. where drive was made a few
days ago. a COW elephant found herself
inside the stockade without her off
spring. With scream she rushed out
of the gateway again. and. finding the
little one, tostled il back to the in.
closure in front of her. thinking. no
doubt, If an elephant can think. that
she had conveyed it to place of
safety When the big animals are fin.
ally tied up the young are allowed 10
run loose, and their mothers then
treat them with cruel violence. striy.
ing thus to drive them away into the
iungles so thai they may escape their
own fate.
Through the livelong night the cap.
tives kept up their frightened strus.
giles in the stockade. In the morning
they We're still toilfully pushing and
turning, but an elephant deprived of
water rapidly loses his strength. and
the violence of the night before was
over. Six kumakis. or trained ele-
plants, with the mahouts on their
backs, We're then brought in for the
next stage of the operations. This was
the roping up OF the capiives pre-
paratory to their removal There were
Two methods of procedure The first
was for the bigger animals, and con.
sisted of maneuvering them TO the
side of the stockade, so that their hind
legs could be lashed to the upright
logs. The trained animals pitilessly
hustled the herd. Pushing. proddiug.
hurting their monstrous weight in
short charges under The guidance OF
The mahouts. they kept them contin.
ually on the move. to single out larger
animals
FOOD OE6AUCH SUCCESSFULLY