will not only divert his attention from their mohouts, but absolutely assist them in fastening the cords. Mr. Howitt made a spirited drawing of this curious scene, from the descriptions of Captain Williamson. The hind-legs of the captive being secured in a similar manner, the hunters leave him to himself, and retire to a short distance. In some cases he is fastened at once to a large tree, if the situation in which he is first entrapped allows this. But under other circumstances, in the first instance his legs are only tied together. When the females quit him he discovers his ignominious condition, and attempts to retreat to the covert of the forest. But he moves with difficulty, in consequence of the ropes which have been lashed round his limbs. There are long cables trailing behind him; and the mohauts, watching an opportunity, secure these to a tree of sufficient strength. He now becomes furious, throwing himself down, and thrusting his tusks into the earth. If he break the cables, and escape into the forest, the hunters dare not pursue him; but if he is adequately bound, he soon becomes exhausted with his own rage. He is then left to the further operation of hunger, till he is sufficiently subdued to be conducted, under the escort of his treacherous friends, to an appointed station, to which, after a few months' discipline, he becomes reconciled *. In the kingdom of Ava all the elephants are caught by decoy females, though the process is somewhat different from that practised by the Koomkies of British India. Mr. Crawfurd informs us that the King of Ava" is possessed, in all, of about one thousand elephants, divided into two classes: those which are thoroughly broken in and tamed, consisting prin * See Williamson's Sports; and Mr. Corse's paper in the Asiatic Transactions, vol. iii. cipally of males; and those that are employed as decoys, all females, and in a half-wild state." These decoys are generally kept in the neigbourhood of forests frequented by elephants;-and when the herd is joined by a wild male, they are all driven into the capital, to a place called the elephant palace," appropriated for exhibiting, for the king's diversion, the taming of the wild male elephant. This place is a square inclosure, surrounded everywhere by a double palisade, composed of immense beams of teak timber, each equal in diameter to the main-mast of a four-hundred-ton ship. Between the palisades there is a stone wall, about fourteen feet high and twenty thick. On the top of this the spectators are seated to view the sport. . . . The inclosure has two entrances; the gates of which are composed of beams, which can be moved at the bottom by means of ropes." We shall extract Mr. Crawfurd's amusing description of the scene which took place in this enclosure: "A cloud of dust announced the approach of the elephants, about twenty in number: these, with the exception of the captive, were all females, several of them with their young following them. A few of the best broken-in only were mounted. Partly by persuasion, and partly by force, these were seen driving before them a small male elephant, not, as we were told, above thirteen years old: it required at least half an hour to induce him to enter the gate of the inclosure. A very docile female elephant led the way, conducted by her keeper; but the half-tamed females were nearly as reluctant to enter as the wild male himself; they went five or six times half-way in before they were finally entrapped; and, twice over, the male had run off to the distance of a quarter of a mile from the inclosure, but was again brought back by the females. VOL. II. L "The elephants having entered, we were requested to come into the king's presence, in which situation we should have a better view of the sport. We walked round accordingly by the southern and eastern angles of the inclosure, and seats were assigned to us in the same line with, and next to the princes; not only the most distinguished, but the most convenient situation. We made a bow, as before, and the sport went on. From the smallness of the elephant, there was neither much danger nor amusement in it. The females were withdrawn from the inclosure, one by one; and then the elephant-catchers, who are a distinct race, went into the square unarmed, and provoked the wild elephant to pursue them, which he did with great fury. The keepers took shelter from his pursuit within the palisade, through the apertures of which he lashed his trunk in vain. The elephant-keepers exhibited much boldness and agility; but, from what we saw, I should conceive that they ran very little risk. Accidents, however, sometimes occur. A few years ago, one of the hunters, when pursued by the elephant, tripped and fell; he was killed on the spot by the enraged animal. The king, who was present when this happened, immediately retired, the sight of blood not being fit for him to behold, either as a sovereign, or a votary of Gautama. "Some goats were put into the square, and these were pursued by the elephant in the same way as the keepers, and with as little effect. These animals eluded his pursuit with the utmost ease; and were so little concerned at his presence, that they soon began to quarrel amongst themselves. When the elephant was sufficient tired, three huge tame male elephants were brought in to secure him, each mounted by his keeper, who had in his hand a rope with a noose, which one of them, after the second or |