D R I V I N G E L E P H A N T S INTO A K E D D AH.
motion is less M l by ihe ritler, and so easy to ihc ainm:il itself, as when (lie
elephanl is acconl red wi th a s addl e and s t i r rups . Thi s pi i rl icularly sui t s snch
as do not me a sur e above seven f e e t ; wi th those of a g r e a t e r s t ature ¡L would not
only be unpleasant , but pe rhaps next lo impract icable. Ri d ing on tlie ba r e
pad, which will liold six or seven per sons , is a tolerably e a sy mode , though the
fewer Ihe l.etter ; tlie rider ma y eitlier sit s ideways , or bes t r ide the fore pa r t of
the pad. Thi s me thod lias ihe advant a g e of admi t t ing of a chang e of position
El epl i ant s have a g r e a t dislike to camel s , thougli they will travel wi th them
when laden, wi thout showing it much. No t h i n g distresses this ma jes t i c animal
move llian being close followed by a hoi-se, espec i a l ly at a canter or other qui ck
p a c e : probably tlie c l a t ler ing of his hoofs creates alarm. An e l ephanl c annot
be a r the near approa ch of dog s , or other small q u a d r n p e d s ; and if in proceeding
tlirough a g r a s s j ung l e , g ame should s l a r l near him, he will f r equenl ly
evince great uneasiness. In heavy covers e l ephant s are of inlinite service, their
])ulk. and tlie noise occasioned by their mot ions , of ten rous ing g ame whi ch
would else rema in sccreted, and ihcir height g i v ing a counnanding view to
ilu'ir r ider s . The s e ci rcums tances arc pa r t i cul a r ly convenient when a line is
formed for the purpos e of di'iving g ame into net s, the manner of do ing which in
some mea sure re s embl e s the operat ions , before descr ibed, of dr iving elepl iant s
into a keddah. On ihesc occasions the count ry for many miles ronnd is beaten
by a vast numbe r of j)edcstrians, mi x ed wi th elephant s , camel s , hor semen, and, in
short, every thing tliat can be had to lill u p ihe l ine ; which, in a semi -ci rcular
form, bends ils course towards the nets, rous ing the g ame as it proc e eds , and
ur g ing it lo the (alal snare.
T h e nets are made of hemp rather looselv twi s t ed; usua l ly the soft long f ibred
sort called pmtt, w jiwl, is emp l o y e d ; it be ing che ape r and l ight e r than the
suse, whi ch is the s ame a s ihc Eu r o p e a n hemp . T h e meshes , which a r e abont
e i ght or len inches long, a r e formed wi thout any knot or lie wha tever , s impl y
b y the cros s ing of two ya rns retju ired for ea ch line in the net. Th e s e be ing
iwisted together for half the l eng ih of the me sh, a r e then cros sed by another
pai r twisted in a similar ma n n e r ; af ter which cach pa i r a r e respect ively twi s ted
aga in until they, at a s imi lar di s tance, arc c ros s ed by other twists. T h i s format
ion render s the net r ema rkably e l a s l i c ; but when a very powe r ful anima l is
toiled, the meshes arc a p l to di s tend and pe rmi t ils escape. T h e sizes of nets
a r e var ious , a c cording to their intended purpos e s . Tho s e for hogs rei[uirc lo
s t and about four oi- live feet high, and they shouhl be about thirty ya rds long.
For deer or tigci-s they ought to be full ten feet in heigh I, else there would not
be sullicient to envelope and ent angle the former in a prope r manner , and the
Inlter n o u l d bound o v e r ; which indeed they of ten «lo over the hi ghe s t toils. 1
have seen a b u c k antelope give the lead lo a herd of does in .skipping over a
net whi ch wa s suppo r t ed by poles u pwa r ds of thirteen feet l o n g ; wi iencc we
iiuiy fairly c ompu t e the uppe r line of the net to have s tood at least eleven feet
from ihe g r ound.
T h e natives, for the mos t pa r t , use ve ry s impl e cont r ivances ; their me thod of
l ixing nets is admi r abl e , both for its facility and for its s t rength, Ho l e s be ing
d u g about a fool de ep in the g r ound, two smal l cavities are ma d e in the sides,
near its bot tom, and oppos i t e to each other. A s t rong pin, to the middl e of
which the rope is f a s tened, is then bur i ed in the hole, having each end in one
of the bur rows , thus lying hor izontal ly, and at r i ght ang l e s wi th the point
^vhence the rope is to be dr awn l ight . T h e ea r th be ing returned to the excava -
tion, render s it ut ter ly impos s ible to force up the pin, even in loose soil. Al l
mi l i tary men know tha t enc ampmenl s are pi tched on s ands , b y me ans of smal l
bushe s fas tened to the ends of I he tent ropes , and bur ied a b o u t a foot de ep : the
tent will g o to pieces be for e the bushe s will dr aw up !
Ti l e bot tom, or g r ound line of the net is dr awn a s l i ght as several men can
strain it, b u t the u p p e r rope is left s omewha t s l a c k e r ; it b e ing r equi r ed to
deviate cons ide r ably f rom its r ight line, by the he i ght to whi ch it is rai sed by
the di s t ending poles , which should be as few a s po.ssible. Th e s e are all fixed
on tha t side of the net whi ch is next the g ame . T h e sudden j e r k oc c a s ioned b y
an animal rushing at spe ed a g a ins t the toil, gives a spr ing to the uppe r line, and
relieves the poles suincient ly to al low the net lo fall lo the g r o und, whe r e the
u p p e r and lower rope s col lapse, and pr event tlie g ame f rom ret reat ing. S u c h
as ul l empl to run a l ong the net be c ome mo r e and mor e enl ang l ed, espec i a l ly
de e r wi th horns , whi ch neces sar i ly are mor e s t r a i ght ened than other s .
Sho r t neis, not e x c e eding in he i ght wh a t ma y be absolut e ly neces sary, are
bes t , a s well as mos t convenient. T h e y should ba r e ly s i iew abo v e the c o v e r ;
else, be ing too obvious , the g ame could not be u r g e d t owa rds them. As to
ext ent , it ma y be prolong ed at pleasure, by a d d i n g a s ma n y nets a s mi ght be
j u d g e d r e qui s i t e ; the one over - c l apping the other a fool or two. B y this division
into small pieces the nets can ])e set much l ight er , ihey are more po r t abl e ,
and, be ing in small por t ions , only the quant i ty ne edful to envelope one or two
anima l s falls at a t ime ; whe r eby there is a bet ter chance of succes s . Í have
seen Mr . Funi , a Ge rma n , who had cha r g e of the Hono u r a b l e Comp a n y ' s
e l ephant s a t the station, set his net s, whi ch a l together we r e a t least
a thous and y a rds long, and ent angle every species of g ame , f rom a búl l a lo to a
hog-deer ! Tin- former es c aped before pr o pe r me ans could be taken to s e cur e
him, leaving an immens e g a p in the toil : the c rowd of hor semen, fool inen,
elepl iant s , &c . wa s such as lo render it dang e r ous to lire at him, el se he mi ght
have been shot with ease.
I t is surpr i s ing that of the va s t numbe r s of antelopes and hog-deer whi ch
have been toiled, and kept in a l a r g e pa l ed enclosure by Mr . Paul , he never
could induce one to t ake any sus tenance ; ihe y g ene r a l ly bul l e d a t the fence
until they died. T ame de e r we r e int roduced, unde r the opinion thai their
e x amp l e mi ght lead the s t r ang e r s to cat , b u t the y we r e so r oughl y handled liiat
it wa s found neces sary to g e l them out a g a in wi thout de l ay. F awn s , howeve r ,
are ve ry easily rea red b y me ans of goa t s , whi ch they soon leani lo suck ; Uie
D R I V I N G E L E P H A N T S I N TO A K.EDDAÍL 33
fos ter -dam, howeve r , is not a lwa y s ve ry pa t i ent , and gene r a l ly requi res to be
held whi l e the f awn is sucking.
T h e Pl a t e e xhibi t s the ba ck view of a Aoicf/«//, and the t r apping s of an elephant ,
t og e the r wi th the manne r in Avhich a c/iaitah or umbr e l l a is borne by a palankeen
bea rer . T h e vehicle represented is a taum-jauiig, literally impl y ing " a
s u p p o r t for the l e g s ; " it is cor rupt ly termed a tom-john. I t is a l ight conveyanc
e , sui ted to fai r we a the r and to hi l ly count r ies , be ing nothing more than
a s qua r e a rm chai r wi th a foot boa rd, car r ied be twe en two poles by four
be a r e r s , who ei ther take each an end of a pole on their sho u l d e r s ; or, b y
me ans of two cent re pieces s lung in the middl e be twe en the poles , one before
and the other behind the c h a i r ; the former mode is e x t r eme ly uns a fe, and is
be s ide s far les s e a s y than the latter, Avhich is mos t in use. 1 wa s the mor e induc
ed to pr e s ent a view of ihis machine, f rom not obs e rving one pour t r ayed in
any of the nume rous pr int s rel a t ing to Indi a cus toms , &c . ; and be c aus e the
tanm-jaung wa s or igina l ly used at Chi t t a g dng and the adj a c ent districts, whe r e
g r e a t numbei-s of e l ephant s a r e annua l ly c a u ght in keddahs.
T h e bochah, or chair palankeen, re s embl e s in some me a sur e one of the En g l i s h
s edans , though in some respect s it be a r s a closer affinity to a char iot body. I t
is car r ied, as all palankeens are, by me ans of two poles projec t ing, one forwa rd,
the other b a c kwa r d f rom their respect ive s ides , ea ch suppor t ed by four rods of
i ron, proc e eding to the corners of the palankeen. T h e door s are a t the sides,
and, as wel l a s the windows , are furni shed wi th l ight Venetians and gl a s s .
Bochaks are in gene r a l us e for ladies.
Mahanahs a r c more calculated for t r ave l l ing g r e a t di s tances , be ing long and
na r row, so that one ma y s leep in them very c omf o r t a b l y ; they nm furnislicd
wi th thin bedding s and pillows. Be ing sur rounded with venehan>, and covered
wi th a cloth culled a gulluk-tope, or defence aga ins t rain, " they become excellent
habi tat ions , and arc far more safe und commodious , for journeys of many
hundred miles, than our mail coaches . T h e usual rate of Iraveíling, including all
del ays , muy be es t imated at three miles and a hal f within the h o u r ; and eight
bea rer s will travel at that ra le for five or s ix hours together . For short distances
they will proceed much f a s t e r ; indeed I have more than once gone with
ten bea rer s f rom Ca l cut t a lo Bur rockpore, which is about fifteen miles, in three
hour s : but the road is very fine all ihc way.
T h e naulkee, or naulkeen, is a state conveyance used only by sovereign
princes, or such as represent Ma j e s ty, and arc entitled lo ihe nohout, or baini
of music over their g a t ewa y s , whe r e they per form a t s taled per iods both day
and night . In fuel, the naulkee is nothing but a squa r e throne somewha t res
embl ing an Hindoslanee hovidah, borne on four poles by eight bearers .
Al though of these four conveyances the mahunah, or bed palankeen, is mos t
common, be ing sui ted to all occasions, ye t the taum-jaung is ga ining fas t into
use, especial ly for ladies , who take an a i r ing before breakf a s t dur ing the hot
season, when exerci se on horsebuck \vould prove loo f a t iguing. From wha t
has a l r e ady been s taled r e g a rding ihe disposition of horses in India, it may be
suppo s ed tha i a qui e l animal lit lo car ry a l ady is a rarity : such indeed is ihe
case, which render s an elephant whose pa ces a r e e a sy a g r e a t acquisition ; but
the expens e of ke eping one, and, indited, in some places the dillicully dur ing
ccvtain seasons of obt a ining ])roper fodder wi thin a reasonable distance, are
gr e a t obs tacles .