h they were shipped by the Dutch, at Matura,
Galle, and Negombo. A piece of strong sail-cloth having been wrapped
round the elephant's chest and stomach, he was forced into the sea
between two tame ones, and there made fast to a boat. The tame ones then
returned to land, and he swam after the boat to the ship, where tackle
was reeved to the sail-cloth, and he was hoisted on board.

"But a better way has been invented lately," says Mr. Strachan; "a large
flat-bottomed vessel is prepared, covered with planks like a floor; so
that this floor is almost of a height with the key. Then the sides of
the key and the vessel are adorned with green branches, so that the
elephant sees no water till he is in the ship."--_Phil. Trans._, vol.
xxiii. No. 227, p. 1051.]

But the feat of ensnaring and subduing a single elephant, courageous as
it is, and demonstrative of the supremacy with which man wields his
"dominion over every beast of the earth," falls far short of the daring
exploit of capturing a whole herd: when from thirty to one hundred wild
elephants are entrapped in one vast decoy. The mode of effecting this,
as it is practised in Ceylon, is no doubt imitated, but with
considerable modifications, from the methods prevalent in various parts
of India. It was introduced by the Portuguese, and continued by the
Dutch, the latter of whom had two elephant hunts in each year, and
conducted their operations on so large a scale, that the annual export
after supplying the government establishments, was from one hundred to
one hundred and fifty elephants, taken principally in the vicinity of
Matura, in the southern province, and marched for shipment to Manaar.[1]

[Footnote 1: VALENTYN. _Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien_, ch. xv. p. 272.]

The custom in Bengal is to construct a strong enclosure (called a
_keddah_), in the heart of the forest, formed of the trunks of trees
firmly secured by transverse beams and buttresses, and leaving the gate
for the entrance of the elephants. A second enclosure, opening from the
first, contains water (if possible a rivulet): this, again, communicates
with a third, which terminates in a funnel-shaped passage, too narrow to
admit of an elephant turning, and within this the captives being driven
in line, are secured with ropes introduced from the outside, and led
away in custody of tame ones trained for the purpose.

The _keddah_ being prepared, the first operation is to drive the
elephants towards it, for which