GOING OUT IN THE MORNING.
ívliich lliey ave itkled by the ropes that
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olinil)iiif; I1|) Ills ele|)liaiil's nini)), In
pass, like a cnJ|)pcr, uiiilcr llie insertion ol Its lail.
The eloplianl is invanal)ly driven l)y a mohmH, lei the form of couvcyancc
1m- wllal it may. lie sils <.n llie nock, willl his legs bclliml tile cars, and Ills feet
williin' a kind ol' collar of loose cords passed Un or Uvclvc times round the ncek.
With his iocs he »nides the elephant; pressing under tlie car opposite the way
h,. ,voul,l procced • thus, if lie ivonld turn to the right, he presses with his left
loe ; and vice vcmi. He governs the elephant hy means of an iron instrument
ahoilt Iwo feet long, having a large hook affixed near the top. This is called a
Ao»»/,-»,., literally a driver ; with the pointed end of it he either accelerates, or
causes the elephant to lay down : in the former case he .irgcs the point forward;
in llie laller, lie presses it perpendicularly on the centre of tlie skull ; accompanying
i-ach inod<' with ivords of command in general use, and for the most
part sti' well understood liy elephants as to sulfiec without recourse to the
/;«»»/,•«.«. As many elephants are imiiatienl while mounting, or loading, it is
not only proper to keep a certain pressnre on the head, but to cause a grass
cnlter, who ordinarily attends, provided with a .spear, spiked at both ends, and
used ehielly to goad the elephant forward, to stand on one of the fore legs;
pressing, if ncecssary, the end of the spear, so as to deter the animal from rising
prematurely.
Those who proeced on horseback, occasionally lind some difficulty in mounti
n g ; for, exclusive of the vice predominant in the horse throughout India,
many of those animals are so shy of Europeans, as uot to allow one to mount
without being hoodwinked; as is shewn in the Plate. Indeed it has often
been my own lot to possess horses I could neither mount nor dismount, without
being held by, their own particular syces or grooms, lest T might become a
victim to their ferocious dispositions. When mounted, they are for the most
p a r t tolerably governable, possess great spirit, and are excellent hunters ; but
being, with few exceptions, stone horses, ihey arc pectdiarly ([uarrelsome, and
impatient, especially when in sight of a mare. This renders it impossible to
r i d e hoot to boot, as is practised in England. Indeed from a dozen to twenty
yards interval sometimes proves too little for the eagerness of horses to luake
battle. It is considered .as quite an ordinary circumstance to see one or two
engagements, between led horses in particular ; often to the greatest injury of
t h e animals, and seldom without a dismal report of the damage done to the
saddles, and other accoutreiuents.
P L A T E II.
BEATING SUGAR CANES FOR A HOG.
TirB experienced sportsman commenccs liis operations often before the day is
well announced ; at this lime the scent lies well, tliougli it. evaporates very
rapidly after sunrise. At early hours the game will often be found on tlu'
feed at the edges of covers, or may be intercepted on tlieir return from nightly
depredations in remote fields ; tliey are consequenll)' in a slate of fatigue, and
more etisily overtaken. This certainly is not in general a desideratum; but where
covers are heavy and diflicult to search, or when other covers are too contiguous,
at times it becomes an important consiileration; since an arduous chase is often
ruinous to a good Iiorse.
It should be here understood, that the wild hog's pacc and powers are not to
b e estimated by any comparison with tanic swiue. Those unacquainted with
the vigour ami speed of the jungle hog, will be sHi-})rised lo learn, tliat it requires
a good horse to keep near a inoderate sized hog, not rendered tardy by
loo long voluptuousness among corn or canes; and that it is by no means uncommon
to sec, what is considered but a moderate sized animal, overthrow
many horses, with tlieir riders, in succession ! The fact is, that, from April (o
November, during wliich period tiie canes and corn are oil" the ground, the
wild hogs are compelled lo wander from the copses and long-grass jungles, in
which they take refuge, in search of food lo great distances; by which means
they are not only kept low in (lesh, hut from their daily exercise, get confirmed
in good wind, and seem rather lo fly than to run.—And this is not merely a
spurt of some Imndred of yards, but for a good distance. I recollect being one of
four, well mounted, who were completely distanced in a chase of about three
mites. .In crossing the country one morning early in June, about sunrise, we
saw at some distance a hog trotting over a plain to his cover, which was a very
large extent of brambles and copse, from Avhich we could not hope lo drive
Iiim. As there appeared no chance of overtaking him, we agreed to let him
proceed nnmolested, and lo be at the place from whicii he had come, by daybreak
the next morning. We accordingly were tip early, anticipating the
pleasure of being at his heels; but on arriving at the same spot from which
we had descried him, he was seen still nearer to Iiis cover than before.
Knowing that when hogs take the alarm, they arc apt to change ih.-ir roul.-, or
their hoin-s, we were not surpi'ised at this device, which rather iijcreiL-^cd our
acuteness. We were still earlier on the third morning, wh<-n we took up our
positions near his nighlly resort, and luul the satisfaction to find we were in
time to bear him company homeward. Here, however, some delay took place :
the hog, on his first breaking from the small junghr where we awaited him, anil
through which he had lo pass, after glutting himself in a swamp among some
young rice sown extremely thick for Iransplanliiig, found that he was watchc<l;
he therefore, after Irolliiig out about a hundred yards, gave a snorl atui returned.
T\\k was exactly what we wished for! It was not yel day, and the
desire to intercept our prey, had made us push forward so as to leave our
people far behind. They however came up lo the number of about t«o hiuidred,
and afler beating the cover for a short time, our friend took fairly lo ihe plain.
As we were careful not to discourage hiiii, and had cautiously kept from that
side on which we wished him to boll, he gained upon us a little; perhaps
about a hundred and fifty yards. He had lo go at least three miles to his
Iiome, and the whole of the plain was laid out in paddy, or rice, fields; that is
in compartments of about an acre or two each, divided by mud banks, perhaps
from a foot to l\vo feet high, and about fifteen inches thick. Under such circumstances
our iior.ses had evid(!ntly great advantage; yet we hail the mortification
lo sec the hog keep iiis di.stance, and enter the copse, without the
possibility of even throwing a distant spear. His track over the banks was
obvious: each place could be distinguished, where, as he passed over, his belly
grazed ; and those banks nearest the jungle into which he had escaped were
tinged with blood. It was without any exception the hardest chase I ever saw.
This may serve to give an idea of the difTerence in speed betwctame
hogs.
wild and
The wild hog delights in cultivated situations; but he will not remain where
water is not at hand, in which he may, unobserved, tjuench his (hrist and
wallow at his ease. Nor will he resort for a second season to a spot which
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