Should one animal be thus caught, a sudden
panic seizes the rest of the herd, and in their hasty retreat one or
more are generally victims to the numerous pits in the vicinity. The old
bulls never approach a watering place rapidly, but carefully listen for
danger, and then slowly advance with their warning trunks stretched to
the path before them; the delicate nerves of the proboscis at once
detect the hidden snare, and the victims to pitfalls are the members of
large herds who, eager to push forward incautiously, put their "foot
into it," like shareholders in bubble companies. Once helpless in the
pit, they are easily killed with lances.
The great elephant hunting season is in January, when the high prairies
are parched and reduced to straw. At such a time, should a large herd of
animals be discovered, the natives of the entire district collect
together to the number of perhaps a thousand men; surrounding the
elephants by embracing a considerable tract of country, they fire the
grass at a given signal. In a few minutes the unconscious elephants are
surrounded by a circle of fire, which, however distant, must eventually
close in upon them. The men advance with the fire, which rages to the
height of twenty or thirty feet. At length the elephants, alarmed by the
volumes of smoke and the roaring of the flames, mingled with the shouts
of the hunters, attempt an escape.
Pages:
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300