Year: 1878

Elephants intended for domestication
are captured in various ways. 1t was
formerly common to take them In pit
falls, but in this way they were fire.
quently much injured. Another method
often practiced is by the aid of tame
elephants. Males are chiefly captured
in this way, the decoy elephants being
females trained for the purpose. With
these the hunters very cautiously ap-
proach the animal they mean To capture.
He generally permits them to come up
TO him, and is so pleased TO make the
acquaintance of the females that he
takes no notice of their riders and other
human attendants, Two of the females
him, and while lie is interested in them
the men whose profession il is, and who
spend their lives in the business, con-
trive TO get beneath their bodies and
pass ropes around the legs Of the in
tended captive. His two legs are fasten-
ed together by six or eight ropes In the
form of a figure s. another rope keeping
them tight at the intersections, and Il
strong cable with a running moose is
attached to each hind leg. About
twenty minutes are usually spent in
fixing the necessary ropes, profound
silence being maintained the process
goes on unobserved; or some of the other
hunters distract the attention of the ele-
phaEt from those who are engaged in
the work. When at last the animal be-
comes sensible OF liis danger aud tries
to retreat, an opportunity is soon found
of tying him, by means Of the long
cables that trail behind, 10 some tree
strong enough for the purpose. His
fury then becomes ungoyernable, and
he makes violent efforts to get free,
usually throwing himselfon the ground
and twisting himself into the most ex-
traordinary positions. Ii is not until
he has thoroughly exhausted himself,
and begins to suffer severely from IA
tigue, hunger, and thirst, that the steps
are taken toward tanning him and max
ing him faithfulan willing servant of
man.


Still more wonderful is the manner in
which the capture of an elephant will
sometimes be effected by not more than
two hunters. Armed with no other
weapon than flexible rope, a couple OF
intrepid men will start out into the for
est in search of their prey without aid
or attendants. With this rope they Sc
cure one of the elephants hind-legs by
following his footsteps when in motion,
or by stealing close up TO him when at
rest. Sometimes they effect their object
by spreading the moose on the ground,
partially concealed by the roots and
leaves, beneath tree in which one of
the party is secreted who suddenly
ughtens the moose by means of a cord.
When arrested by the rope, which is al
SO fastened to some neighboring trunk,
the elephant naturally turns upOn the
man Ia fIun+- ns' succession of mannu-
vers he avoids the charge, while his
companion insnares the beast by passing
moose after moose over the feet, all OF
which are finally made fast TO trees,
and thus the capture is complete. Az
ter this the hunters build a booth for
themselves close by their prisoners, kim
die their fires for cooking and remain
quietly day after day until the elephant
is sufficiently tame to be led away
These huge animals are usually captur-
ed singly, but whole herds are in some
cases taken at once. This is accom-
plished by means of an inclosure, toward
which the elephants are driven by great
numbers of men encircling a considera-
BILE space, and contracting the circle by
slow degrees. Weeks or even months
are spent in this operation, and at last
the elephants, hemmed in on every side
except the mouth of the inclOsure, en-
ter it, and the gate is Immediately clos
ed. The modes of constructing this ill.,
closure are different in different parts OF
the East. Tame elephants are some-
times sent into it, and the fresh captives
are in succession made fast to trees.