The Wild Elephant and the Method of Capturing and Taming it in CeylonTennent, James Emerson, Sir
History
The Wild Elephant and the Method of Capturing and Taming it in Ceylon
Tennent, James Emerson, Sir
Elephants -- Sri Lanka
In selecting the scene for an elephant hunt a position is chosen
which lies on some old and frequented route of the animals, in their
periodical migrations in search of forage and water; and the vicinity
of a stream is indispensable, not only for the supply of the elephants
during the time spent in inducing them to approach the enclosure, but
to enable them to bathe and cool themselves throughout the process of
training after capture.
In constructing the corral itself, care is taken to avoid disturbing
the trees or the brushwood within the included space, and especially on
the side by which the elephants are to approach, where it is essential
to conceal the stockade as much as possible by the density of the
foliage. The trees used in the structure are from ten to twelve inches
in diameter; and are sunk about three feet in the earth, so as to leave
a length of from twelve to fifteen feet above ground; with spaces
between each stanchion sufficiently wide to permit a man to glide
through. The uprights are made fast by transverse beams, to which they
are lashed securely by ratans and flexible climbing plants, or as they
are called “jungle ropes,” and the whole is steadied by means of forked
supports, which grasp the tie beams, and prevent the work from being
driven outward by the rush of the wild elephants.
On the occasion I am now attempting to describe, the space thus
enclosed was about 500 feet in length by 250 wide. At one end an
entrance was left open, fitted with sliding bars, so prepared as to
be capable of being instantly shut; and from each angle of the end by
which the elephants were to approach, two lines of the same strong
fencing were continued, and cautiously concealed by the trees; so that
if, instead of entering by the open passage, the herd should swerve to
right or left, they would find themselves suddenly stopped and forced
to retrace their course to the gate.
The preparations were completed by placing a stage for the Governor’s
party on a group of the nearest trees looking down into the enclosure,
so that a view could be had of the entire proceeding, from the entrance
of the herd, to the leading out of the captive elephants.
It is hardly necessary to observe that the structure here described,
massive as it is, would be entirely ineffectual to resist the shock, if
assaulted by the full force of an enraged elephant; and accidents have
sometimes happened by the breaking through of the herd; but reliance is
placed not so much on the resistance of the stockade as on the timidity
of the captives and their unconsciousness of their own strength,
coupled with the daring of their captors and their devices for ensuring
submission.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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