But that is only the beginning of the work, and by far the easiest part. The taming has still to be done. After the herd is captive, tame elephants with riders on their backs tackle the full grown elephants of the herd one by one. Even a strong wild elephant is not a match for two or three tame ones, and the trained ones know their work so well that they soon get the wild creature they are surrounding close to a tree. That is their bit of the work. Then the mahout,[4] who has been on the back of one of the tame elephants, lets himself down to the ground. The tame elephants still keep the wild one close to the tree, and hem him in to keep him from attacking the man who is on the ground, for he is in great danger. He has to slip ropes round the legs of the wild elephant and fasten him to the tree. The first ropes are the most dangerous ones, for when the great beast feels that he is caught, he is desperate, and strikes out in every direction; but the drivers are quick and clever, and soon their prisoner is tied so tightly to the tree that he can do no harm to anyone. Then when he is firmly fixed there, the mahouts try to make friends with him. They bring him fruit and sugar-cane, and all the things he likes best to eat, and they stay by him, talking to him and singing till he grows quite at home with them. Sometimes they can loosen his cords within a fortnight, and lead him off between two others. There are many other strange sights and sounds in the jungle, and some of them are greatly feared by Indian boys. Though there are many Hindus who will not kill any animal because of their caste rules, there are others who do, and some of them are very clever in catching and killing tigers.