y
KOOMKIES, OR DECOY ELEPHANTS, CATCHING A MALE.
Mr. Viiilla.iL porfm-mcal Ills miníeles In a wilderness, wllliolll any one Lo record
lilsuclik-venienls ; con,se(|Uenlly he ,vasol)llged li) be Ills own lilslorlan. Persons
inidi r sneli clrcunislanec arc In possession of one great advantage : namely, lliat
„!• relating not only llie facts a.s tlicy woulil appear to any common oliscrver,
liMl of dcscrllilng liie ivondrous coolncss and presence of mind wlllcll prevados
tin-n, lliroiigliou't tlic perils of llic enterprise! Possibly Ijic old story of the
maiiwlio took sucli swinging leaps at Rlio.les, might not be perfectly inapplieal,
le in tills ease. Mr. Valllant, iff recollect right, for many years have elapsed
since r rend ilis liook of wonilers, does not slate, whether In Ills tour lie ever
met with a sllini eleiiliani; I should rather think he did not 1 for, had that been
the case, ihe Issue of the rencouirewoiihl probably had deprived the world of his
eiitertiilnhig volumes.
From wbal dale koomUes have been in use, we have no information; nor
have we, so far as I could discover, any guide whereby to form an opinion on
that head. 'I'hc Eastern nations, like the Jews in the tiuic of our Saviour,
either rely on oral Iradlllon, or on ibe writings of the Scribes ; wlileh througlioul
India arc very numerous. Printing was not known tbcve until wltllln the
last thirty years, when presses were cstablislied, of which Ihe operations arc
confined entirely to the purposes of Government and of Europeans ; although
excellent types, suitable to all the languages of Hhitlostan, are cast and In u.se.
The natives however, adhere to their old custom of transcribing ; which they
do to an iranienso extent, and in a style such as cannot perhaps bo equalled
throughout the globe. Excepting a few volumes of poems, some tales anil
fables, the Koran, and some other religious or moral tracts, India can boast of
few piiblleatlons. The literature of such as adect to be scholars, would appear
trilling when compared with the erudition of the generality of boys leaving an
academy, for excepting some very small treatises on astronomy, a science of
which a few Hindoos, residing at Benares, have a superficial knowledge, the
whole mass of Indian learning might be eoniniltted to the flames, with at least
as much propriety as Don Quixote's celebrated collection, and without extorting
even one deep groan from Parson Adams I
PLATE X.
KOOMKIES LEAVING THE MALE FASTENED TO A TREE.
IN this Plate, which presents a full view of the manner in which an elephant
is secured, the kooiiii-ies are seen retiring from the mim, and couching with a
bent knee to receive the moliou/, which Is a very common mode of mounting to
the ncck. Nothing further Is rci|nlsitc, after these measures have been taken,
thaii to leave the male to expend himself, in vain elTorts to regain liis liberty!
Furious and agitated to an extreme, lie destroys whatever may be in his way;
tearing up the tufts of grass by tllc roots, rending from the tree such branehel
as ui.iy be wlthlu ills i-eacli, and eventually straining to throw down the tree
Itself by Ills weight, or to pull It up wltli his trunk. In short, his whole powers
are in action on this occasion ; and It is not until being completely overcome
wllh fatigue, and nearly dead from his natural thirst, which Is greatly augmented
by his constant roarings, that he subsides Into a sort of tranqnilllty.
During Ihe first day it would be of no avail to tender any sustenance; nor in
general will a man, for some time toueh any thing but water, which he
appears to enjoy greatly, and will suek up with avidity. However, the Impulse
of nature soon operates, and induces him to pick at branches of plalntalns,
tiic stems of those trees, sugar canes, bundles of ,//,»/grass, or such other provisions,
as are grateful to his palate. The .same komnldet and »10/10»« attend him
daily, gaining by degrees upon Ills confidence, and rendering him, after some
days, or weeks, according to Ills natural temper or other circumstance, fit to
be taken under charge of elephants, perhaps superior to him in bulk, to the
plaec where others belonging lo the same proprietor are kept. At this lime,
owing to the constraint oeeasloned by the ligatures and by the uniforniily of
position, as well as by the want of exercise, lo which the violent struggles he
has undorgone add greatly, the ai m Is by no means capable of elfectual
c.Merlioii. Large ropes being passed round his body, and. If needful, others
altaeh.al to his legs, he is conducted, generally wltli little trouble, to his
station. Sometimes, however, a mm will in his way, or jierhaps on his legs
being llbei-atcd, make a desperate resistance. When this happens, the conducting
elephants, exlendlng to the length of their tow-ropes, urge forward as fast
as may be practicable; while one or more sturdy males goad him belilnd with
their teeth. The mohouls of the latter being provided witli spears, which are
applied without mercy to the hind parts of the unwilling caiitive, he generally
lliids It most convenient to subiiilt, and may perhaps In a few months afterwards
be seen leading other sauns with great spirit and assiduity.
Coercion should, nevertheless, be avoided as mucli as possible : it is far better
to gain gradually upon an elephant's disposition, than lo have recourse to any act
of violence. No animals on earth have a keener or more lasting sense of injury;
while, on the other hand, none seem more grateful for kln<hiess. I-'or this reas
a person wishing to obtain an elepliant for his own use, should endeavour to get
such as may have been taken by a dealer exercising a system of moderation ;
selecting from his stock one that has, from the first, been most docile, and been
treated with least severity. Such an animal will prove to work better, to be more
healtliy, and to be on all occasions calm and tractable; while the reverse will,
with rare exceptions, be found to result from harsh measures.
Although the practice of ealehlng elephants by means of koomkics, may
appear extremely dangerous, it Is far less so than the mode used In Napaul,
and ill the countries bordering on the northern frontiers. In those parts the
elephants are neither .so handsome, so strong, nor so large, as those bred near
the sea coast. Their want of size renders the catching them by means of a
phtutn (or slip-knot) e.xtremely practicable. The elephants employed In this
business should be selected for size and speed ; males arc to be preferred.
.Each mohoHt Is provided wllh a phamt, or very strong rope, perhaps four or
five inches In circumfcrcnce, and ten or twelve yards In length, exclu.sive of
what is passed round the elephant's body. The soft kind of hemp called paut or
joot, before spoken of, sliouhl be used. At the end of the rope, which lies
colled on the elephant's head, is a sliding noose that works freely, and has aflixcd
to it a strong cord for the purpose of relaxing its grip as occasion may require.
When a herd of elephants is discovered, the director of the hunt ordinarily
singles out one to be pursued; In this he must be regulated by the size of Ills