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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 6, 1908)
TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAX, PORTLAND, SEPTE3IBER 6, 1908. 3 i V Four-Footed Mountain Guide BT W..W. FENS. HAT do you say, my boy? How did I first meet my old friend? "Well, rather strangely; but It's a Ion story. Tou would like to hear It? Ah. I daresay, but If I tell It to you I must leave off painting for a while I can't attend to my work and Carnedd at the same time. Leave off for a bit, and tell you about hlmT 'Well, I will I don't mind to oblige you. 'Some ten Summers ago I and my wife, with two young women friends of hers, were Maying at a small place called Aber. on the coast of Wales much aa we are staying here, you know. now. I was sketching all day. and ths ladles used to amuse themselves after their fashion. Sometimes, I daresay, they got a little bored, and so, to vary their amusements. I agreed to give up a day, and go with them on an excursion up Carnedd Lle wellyn, one of the many high mountains abounding In the neighborhood. "Starting early, therefore, on a glorious morning, we toiled on up the slopes for an hour or two, the way becoming mora and more difficult the higher we went. After some hard work, however, wa reached the summit; but we had not been ' allowed to enjoy the magnificent view very long before there came on rather suddenly a thick, drizzling mist, which grew every minute until we found our eelves In a dense fog through which you could not see five yards away. "We started to return, but In a short : time we had lost all Idea of our where- - abouts. The cold was Intense, and. to ' add to our discomforts, we found our ' selves In some boggy ground In which. at almost every step, we sank ankle-deep below the treacherous surface. "After wandering about for a long time ', things began to look very serious. The girls were quite exhausted, and. although I tried to put the best face on the matter, I was secretly very anxious on their ac count In the event of our being unable to ' find our way down the mountain before nightfall. "Tfred and dispirited, we at last sat down on the leeward side of a rock to finish the remainder of our sandwiches, of which we had by that time but a very small supply, about one each. "While we were engaged In finishing our sandwiches. I caw, looming up through the mist, what at first appeared to be a huge animal as big aa an elephant, but which, as It came closer, proved to be only a collie dog. He came up within a yard or two of us. and for a minute or so regarded us with great attention. I offered him half my sandwich which he accepted, and we Immediately became friends. "And Is that the dog, sir?" Interrupted the boy. pointing at the animal asleep un der the hedge. "Yes that's my friend, Carnedd," an swered the artist. The animal raised his head, blinked af fectionately at his master, and giving one or two thwacks upon the grass with his tail, speedily resigned himself to repose again. "Well, to proceed." resumed the artist, "after a short time I noticed that the dog went away a few yards, and then stopped and looked back to us. After thki had been repeated several times, it struck me he did this purposely to Induce us to fol low him. Thinking he might lead us to his master, who might be somewhere on i the mountain. 1 proposed to the ladies that we should follow the dog as the only chance that offered of our escaping from our unpleasant and dangerous situation. "The suggestion was acted upon at once Little Children of the BT ELIOT M'CORMICK. - PART II. esOM C3GOOD. meanwhile, had I trudged his weary way along the road around the foot of the moun tain, and about 7 o'clock had reached the city gates. Just before reaching It he stopped for a moment and looked down Into the river that flowed swiftly below the city walls. The sight struck a chord of recollection. "What was it I used to read about this place?" he asked himself vainly. "Seems to me It was In a piece I spoke once at achool." To his surprise, when he reached the hotel where they had agreed to meet. Fred was not there nor had anything been heard of him. His wait, however, did not last long. In fifteen minutes the door opened and Fred came in. There was a strangw look of excitement on Fred's face, and his step was more active. Tom thought, than a boy's ought to be who had Just walked over the Kop pen berg. "Feel my pXiUe, won't you. Tom?" he cried nervously, "and see If I've got a fever. Did I seem out of my head when I left you? Did I talk wild, Tom? Did you ever hear of Insanity in my family? Really and truly, Tom, I don't know whether I'm crazy or not." Tom was gazing at his friend In speech less amazement. "What In the world's got Into you?" he gasped. "It didn't get into me, I got Into It, and It was a lunatic asylum as near as I could make out. Only the keeper looked like a clown In a circus and the rest were all children. I tried to get one of them away, Tom" Fred's voice broke a little "but just then the whole thing vanished, just like people do In a dream, you know. I don't know where she went. I could see the spot where she stood, but she wasn't there " "Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" Interrupted Tom. "Dreaming! Do I generally dream In daylight? Would I stop to dream when I was In such a hurry to get here ahead of you? And, besides, Tom. I can whistle the march the man played. Just listen." Fred was a good whistler. Now his ex citement lent strength and. clearness to his notes, so that the porter was drawn by them from his desk, the Ober-kenner from the dining-room, the director from the office and most of the guests from the reading and smoking-rooms. In fact, be fore Fred was through he had quite an audience, most of whom, he noticed, had a puzzled look on their faces as though something about the whistle or the tune were out of the way. Wbat the look meant he did not have long to wait to find out. "You whistle very well, sir." the direc tor remarked, almost before Fred was fairly through, "but perhaps you were not aware that that tune la forbidden in Hameln." Fred was surprised. "Why," he stammered, "I only learned It today." The director shook his head sagaciously. "It Is not allowed In Hameln." he re peated. "I wouldn't .whistle It again If I were you." "But why not?" demanded Fred. "For the same reason," gravely, "that It Is forbidden to play music of any kind in the Buirnstrasee." Fred scared. "What is in the Bungenstraase?" be asked, "and why may not one play In It?" The director bowed, gravely. "Probably the young herren will recall the story, for one of their English poets and the collie went before us apparently well pleased to be our guide. I am cer tain he was quite aware of the service he H was doing us, because, if occasionally he went out of sight In the thick mist, he In variably cama back to us to see If w were following. ' "For more than an hour we plodded wearily on, walking principally along nar- row sheep tracks, until, at last, quite sud denly, we emerged from the mist Into you will be surprised to hear bright sun shine again, and found ourselves Just above the Aber waterfall. I should tell you. my boy. that immediately before do ing this we discovered that we had passed along the narrow path on the lace of the rock, with a precipice on the near side so narrow that no person could pass an other. But the. mist here was of some service, for had the danger been seen, none of the party would have been bold enough to venture on this dangerous track." has written about It. It happened over 600 years ago that the town of Hameln wasr overrun with rats " That was enough. Tom had found his clew. "Of course, I've read it!" ho cried. "Don't you recollect. Fred? They could not get rid of them, and one day an old fellow came into town and offered to pipe them out for a thousand dollars, or what ever It was. and they took him up. But when he had done It, and the rats were all drowned In the river, they wouldn't stick to the bargain, and so he struck up his pipe again, and this time all the ehil' dren followed him why, what's the mat ter. Fred?" "The young gentleman Is 111." exclaimed ths portier, and would Rave rushed oft for a doctor had not Fred Interfered. "No, no!" impatiently; "I'm not sick, Tom; but don't you see? Is it so?" turn ing to the director. "Is that the story?" The director nodded. "All the children In the town followed him as far as the mountain side, and then, when their fathers and mothers thought they could go no farther, the mountain opened and they were all swallowed up all, that is. but one little boy who was dumb, and another who was lame. This was the street they went down. On the Ratten- faengerhauser opposite is a tablet com memorating the event, and ever since that time there has been no music played In the Bungenstraase. Even If a. bridal procession goes through the street, the music must not play. And the tune which you were whistling was the tune the piper played- It was scored at the time by the kapellmeister, "You r sil.Air" j "On reaching the public road the dog left us. One of the ladies fainted with exhaustion as wa entered the village of Aber, but the next day no one was much the worse for our mountain experience. "I found the dog belonged to a, farmer in the neighborhood. We purchased him. giving him the name of Carnedd Llewellyn In remembrance of his opportune service Wa had spent altogether three months at Aber, and, a few days after I had bought the dog, left Wales and returned to my home In Connecticut bringing Carnedd with us. . - i 'There, that's his story. Now, my young friend, you be off, and let me go on with my work," said the painter, rising and. knocking the ashes, out of his pipe. "It you come and see me again tomorrow, perhaps I can tell you another story or two of Carnedd's intelligence. But for the present, goodby." (Copyright, lns, by the McClure News paper Syndicate.) Kopperiberg and every one In Hameln knows It, just as one knows 'Der Wacht am Rheln'; but no ona may play It or whistle It or sing it on the streets. Of course. If the young gentleman had known It was forbidden, he would not have whistled it," "Of course not," said Fred, abstract edly. Fifteen minutes later the . boys were standing underneath the tablet. Tom", In the meantime, had listened in open mouthed wonder to Fred's story of his adventure in the mountain. "What In the world does It say?" asked Tom. Fred scanned It as closely as he could in the fading light. "It's hard to tell." he said. "Part of It Is Latin and part German, but It's badly spelled, and there is soma of It that must be Dutch. As near as I can make out, it reads like this: " 'In the year 1284. on the day of St. John and St. Paul, which was the 26th of Juno' this very day, Tom 'a piper with parti-colored clothes led 130 children born in Hameln by the Koppenberg to Calvary.' That means to their death, I suppose. . Tom nodded, and for a minute the boys looked at one another without speaking. "Well, what are you going to do about It?" asked Tom at length. With another look at the tablet, Fred turned toward the hotel. "There's nothing to be done about it," ha said "I don't think I bad better tell anybody here." - Tom deliberated a minute. "No, I don't think you had," he said. "It happened six hundred and twenty- four years ago. There aren't any of their relatives alive, and nobody would believe you, anyhow. Besides, they seemed to be having a good time, didn't they?" Fred's gaze turned down the street toward the mountain where so' many years ago the little feet had pattered to their grave. But was It their grave? He wondered If Instead of dying they had not lived all the time, and whether any one else had ever seen them besides himself. He was so absorbed. Indeed, that he did not hear Tom's question until It was repeated. "Oh, did you speak V he asked. "Yes, I suppose they were. She said so." , (The End.) (Copyright. 1908, by Lothrop. Lee & Shepard Co.) Winning a Way in the West CHAPTER IX. ROT and Burt expected an attack from the two strangers at once, but It did not come. Instead of that, the fel lows looked around them for several min utes, and then the one called Bill quietly said: "Well, boys, you have struck it rich here and must have taken out a good bit of gold. We don't want what you have taken out, but you will have to move on." "And why?" asked Roy. "Because this Is our claim. We took it up a week or more ago, but-had to go out after provisions. Tou can see our stakes from where you stand. Can't be no claim jumping here, you know. You wouldn't have dug here, only you are boys and don't know the mining laws. You'll have to move on and take up claims some where else." "But those are our own stakes. We have been In this valley a week, and I am sure no one was ahead of us." "Don't call us liars," said the other stranger, who answered to the name of Sam. "We came in here and staked out these two claims, and we propose to bold them. We don't want any trouble with any one, but we must have our own. You can keep what you've got, and If you want to go back to Big Camp we'll buy your outfit. There's nothing mean about us. You are a couple of honest-looking boys, and we want to be fair with you. Talk It over terreen yourselves." The men walked away a distance of 100 feet and sat down, and after the boys had looked at each other for a moment Roy said: , "Burt, we've got to fight. We have found the richest spot In the Black Hills, and we must not let those fellows drive us away. They have never been in this valley before. I don't believe they'd let us no If we agreed to. They'd keep us prisoners here so that we couldn't tell outsiders of the find. They might even kill us." "Have we got to shoot them?" asked Burt In a whisper, as his face turned white. . "Yes, If they try to drive us out." "But I I " "Now, don't tell me that you are going to play the booby. You are going to help me defend this camp, it those fellow get shot in trying to rob us, that will be their lookout. If we don't fight we shall never live to get out of this valley. They are coming now, and I'm going to. tell them what we have decided on. ; "Well, boys, hare you decided to pack tip and gor "No, sir, we haven't," replied Roy. "Ws found this flace first and staked out our claims, and we won t be driven out. "You won't, eh? Well, I think youjl go or be buried right herel We are not the men to put up with any foolishness. Get a move on you right away, or you'll find bullets singing about your ears!" Roy crouched down behind one bowlder and Burt another, and both pointed their rifles run at tne men. up to tnis moment the fellows did not know that ths boys were armed. "If you fire one shot at us you are dead boys!" shouted Bam, -as ha started for ward at a slow pace, and at the same time drawing his revolver from its hoi ster. ' "Stop where you are or we'll shoot I' replied Roy; and as the men came on the, reports of the two rifles rang out to gether) '.' One can't blame Burt for being fright ened and not taking good aim. Roy was also trembling, but his bullet struck Sam In the right arm and whirled him around and sent him to the ground. The one fired by Burt sang by the ear of the other man, and made him jump aside. He sought cover behind a bowlder and fired five or six shots In return, but they did no damage. While he was shooting, ths other man was rolling around on the ground and cursing in an awful manner. He finally got to his feet and went stag gering off down the valley, and directly his partner followed him, turning and shouting at the boys as he went: "Don't think ws are 'going away! We will have your lives for this! "And what will they do?" asked the white-faced -Burt, as the boys stood up to watch the rascals go. "They won't leave the valley you may be sure of that," replied Roy. ."They will go Into camp somewhere down there and we must be on the watch all the time. The one I hit will keep pretty quiet, but we must look out for the other." No more digging was done that after noon. The time was spent in rolling up more bowlders and getting a good defense ready against any attack that might be made that night or on the morrow. W hen night came the boys took turns at stand ing guard, and though ready for any move nothing occurred to alarm them. When morning came Roy made a scout half a mile down the valley and located the men. The unwounded one had erected a brush house for shelter and now sat In front of it cooking breakfast. The other could not be seen, but his voice could be heard growling and cursing. It was evl dent that he was pretty severely wound ed. On hlg return to camp Roy said to his brother: "I shall begin to dig again, and you will stand guard and give the alarm in case the men. come this way. I think my bul- r yew coiriOoS ' oAii Ann- v fl Seem$ "to me OCCOl- I ncyev-i knew Yet Grnd rncv Sdacf 'one levt let took all the fight out of one of them, but we must look out for the other." Ths day passed that way. Roy dug and delved, and Burt stood guard, and nothing happened. They were cooking supper when they were hailed by the unwounded rascal from a distance of 10 rods with: "Hello, the camp! I am not armed, and I want to talk to you for a bit." "Well, what is It?" asked Roy. "My partner is in a bad way. Have you got any rags I can use for bandages? I also want a little whisky, if you have some. I'm sorry we had any trouble. We will go away as soon as he Is able." "We have nothing for you," was an swered, "and if you come a step nearer you will get a bullet." Both boys had seen the man sneaking nearer as he talked. (To be concluded next week.) ' A Truthful Story of a Ghost (By Dr. Arthur Stradllng.) WE don't aspire to the possession of a ghost In my family, but we have a ghost story one of the modern kind, too, with all the latest Im provements. Let me tell it to you, be ginning at the beginning. An uncle of mine, who lived down In Wiltshire, England, had a very great friend, their intimacy dating from their schoolboy days. They had grown up to gether in close companionship; but when both had reached middle life, circum stances separated them. My uncle mar ried, and his friend went abroad, settling somewhere In the Rocky Mountains, where, after corresponding regularly for a time, he lapsed into unaccountable silence. No one kneV whether he was dead or alive. Well, one evening, after some years had, gone by without a word from the wanderer, and when (as would naturally happen) he was much less frequently In the thoughts of those whom he left be hind him, J hey having long since given up all hope or expectation of ever seeing him again, one evening my uncle, who . m They looked full in .each others eyes Hunting Big Came in British India IT was in connection with elephant hunting two years ago that I was fortunate enough to shoot the third largest elephant ever killed In India, writes Edward Pinches In Forest and Stream. It measured 10 feet 4 Inches !n height from the shoulder and the cir cumference of foot was 62 Inches; It was a "goonda" a solitary mule. It had been giving considerable trouble fighting our keonkies, and I applied to the gov ernment for permission to shoot the brute. One night the elephant amused Itself by breaking down the servants tent and nearly killed two men. I had a small camp and several friends were staying with me to see the wild lephauts taken out of the stockade. We were all admiring them, when one of my elephant hunters rushed up and said that the goonda was going for the keonkies. This was most serious, as some of the wild elephants were at that very moment 'roped to tame ones and being tied up to trees. If the goonda got among them some elephant would probably be killed, and certainly some of the drivers. There -was only one thing to do. The goonda must be stopped at all costs. Seizing my rifle, a .160 bore high ve locity, I ran Into the forest to cut him off. I bad not gone more than 20 yards In the forest before I saw the huge brute, but what was more to the point, he' also saw me. There was Just one moment' of hesitation, when he seemed undecided whether to go for the keon kies or to come for me. He decided oil the latter course, and with a shrill trum pet, charged straight down on me, the very Incarnation of rage. It was a glor ious sight, one of thosa moments which make life worth living. I let him get within 10 yards, then shot him clear through the brain. He dropped stone dead to the one shot, shaking the earth as he fell, and one more trophy was add ed to my collection. Hunting big game is one of the most ex citing and interesting of sports. Assam s but little known outside of India, and yet 4n its dense jungles roam the ele phant, rhinoceros, buffalo, tiger, bear, etc. Even In the present day there are huge tracts of virgin forest teeming with game of all descriptions. Perhaps for the true lover of sport the most lnteerstlng Is the catching of wild elephants. These roam the hills of Assam in large numbers; fre- uently as many as a hundred have been captured in a single drive. Of course there are several ways of catching elephants. In Assam it is gen erally done by driving them Into a stock ade, or else by what Is called '"rnela shikar." In the case of the latter only one elephant can be caught at a time and not over about ( teet f ftwhes In held an Important official position on the Great Western Railway, was at Reading Station, about to return to his home, In Wiltshire. There was no train due for nearly three hours to start on the branch line, by which he must travel to his des tination; but all forms and varieties of rolling stock were available to him by virtue of his office, and he was, there- fore, pushing his way along the platform to take the seat with which he was ac commodated on a "milk train." devoted to the conveyance of the returned empty cans to the town In which he resided. I say he was pushing along the platform because a down express had Just come In, and he had to make his way against a stream of folks who had disembarked temporarily therefrom, with a view to spending the five minutes" stop In the re freshment room. What he was thinking about, as he stemmed the crowd hurrying in the op posite direction, I can't exactly tell you; but he assured me that hl mind was, so entirely "preoccupied with business matters that he scarcely noticed the pressure of the throng, and that cer tainly nothing was further from his thoughts than ghostly apparitions or height. The method is as follows: Two fast female tame elephants are usually chosen. On the back of each elephant Is a driver and one other to help with the ropes. The elephants are taken into the forest where wild elephants are known to be. Search Is then made for fresh tracks of a herd. When these are found the herd Is followed up till the tame elephants get In among the wild ones.. The one to be hunted Is then selected and the tame ones gradually edge up close to It. stopping when It doe? and feeding alongside it. A young female is generally chosen. As soon as each tame elephant has closed In on each side of the wild one a rope with a noose is thrown over the neck of the latter by the driver of each tame ele phant. As soon as he feels the rope the wild one bolts, and the tame elephants have to chase till he Is finally run down, which is generally done in about one hour. The elephant drivers have to be very careful, as they are liable to be knocked off by branches of trees or overhanging creeper?.. This kind of hunting calls for great endurance and Is 'only done by na tives. The best way to hunt elephants Is by driving. JJsually about the end of Octo ber the elephants come down from the hills to the salt licks. These are dotted about at the foot of the hills. Every year In Assam the right to catch ele phants is put up at auction by the gov ernment officials and knocked down to the highest bidder. Whoever has pur chased what Is called the "mehal" has the sole right to catch elephants and pro ceeding to the hunting districts and near one of the salt licks much frequented by elephants, erects a stockade. A large number of coolies are employed. These - cut down the trees In the forest Into posts and drive them firmly Into the ground. They are bound together and long posts are braced against them for support. Inside the stockade a big ditch, generally about 4 feet deep and 5 feet wide, is made around the stockade. This is done to prevent the elephants from using their great strength against the stockade. Along both sides leading to the enclos ure trees are felled and a guiding fence made leading right to the salt lick and left open at the side the elephants usual ly enter the salt lick. A huge gate Is made and this Is closed by a rope. Big pieces of timber are used for barricading it from the outside. The Inside of the stockade is left as near like nature as possible and around the enclosure men are placed on platforms among the trees, watching night and day, as there is no telling when the elephants will visit the salt licks. Along the tops of the trees their counterparts of flesh and blood. Yet, no sooner was he seated In the soli tude of his reserved compartment than the image of his lost friend rushed upon him with such force and Intensity, and the conviction of his unseen presence, there In the growing darkness was so real, and yet so intangible, that my uncle, though a prosaic, hard-headed raHway man, felt irresistibly Impressed with the Idea that he was the subject of a supernatural visitation. And this impression grew upon him rather than diminished during the Journey, reason with himself on the absurdity of allow ing such thoughts to master his Judg ment as he would. Did it portend an accident to the train, or what was it? He pinched himself toj make sure that he was awake. No, he was not dream ing, all unreal as the experience seemed. As I have Intimated, he was a prac tical man, and the last person in the world to give way to any foolish fancies about hob-gobllns or their kind; but at the same time he had the courage to recognize the fact that here was some thing worthy of investigation, let thoga laugh who would. So he determined to follow the strange Incident up. as far as he could, in quest of an explanation. Therefore, as soon as he got home, ha ' sat down and wrote off a letter to the. secretary of the Society for the Further ance of Psychical Research, detailing all the circumstances while they were still vividly impressed upon his mind. Neglecting his already long-delayed dinner, my uncle went out to post the letter with his own hand. The whole affair seemed so important that he was not willing to trust even so small a matter as this in connection with it to a. servant. There was a letter box close to the house, but it was too late for collection there, and he had to go to the general postoffloe In the market place. He had Just dropped It In the box. and was In the act of turning to wend his way homeward, when he saw. or thought he paw unless his eyes were playing him false there, on the opposite side of the market place, on the edge of the dark shadow of the old Guildhall there, with the full glare of the gas lamp streaming upon him, standing, the friend of his youth. It was almost too much for his over wrought nerves, and how he crossed the now silent and deserted street he did not remember; but anyhow he found himself on the other rtrte a moment later, clutching the lamp post, and confronting the apparition face to face. They looked In each other's eyes for the space of a minute or so. mute and breathless. Then the specter dealt him a most unghostly dig in the ribs. "Why, you old rascal!" he cried, In a very earthly voice, "then it was you at Reading Just now!" There you have It. It had been a case of what they call nowadays "unconscious cerebration" with my uncle something the same sort of thing that occurs with us when anybody asks us a question while we are reading a deeply Inter esting book. We hear, and may even answer mechanically, but we look tip presently and say, "What Is It? Oh. yes, so and so" as the full meaning of the question which we have received dawns gradually upon us. My uncle had seen his friend and looked straight at him while treading his way through the crowd on the plat- form; but, with his mind preoccupied with other and very different matters. the mental photograph had not developed as It were until he reached the railway carriage, and then he could not properly locate It. How the wraith helped to devour my uncle's dinner when they got home, with appetite sharpened by his lone deten tion at Reading Station; what a lot he had to tell and ask and explain, and how they drifted into uproarious reminiscen ces of their bachelor days1, laughing un til they woke the children up, and sitting up so late that my aunt got quite an noyedall these things you can Imagine for yourselves. But their merriment did not reach Its) climax till my uncle put a bold face upon, it and told the recent ghostly trial which he had undergone, though he knew It would be a joke against him for ever more. It's my belief that If he hadn't told it then he would never have told it at all. and I should't be writing this, i (Copyright, 1908, by the McClure News-, paper Syndicate.) leading to the salt licks clackers are fixed to a string which runs along past; the salt licks, so that when the string Is pulled they make a great noise. At the end of the fence men are hidden with guns. As soon as the elephants en ter the (alt licks men have been watch ing every move from the tops of trees and It is thought that all the herd are through the salt licks, the men at the; end fire off their guns and the clackers" are pulled, making a tremendous noise. The elephants at once stampeolo and nat- urally make for where there Is no noise, j for near the stockade everything Is quiet, j Men follow behind the elephants till they are driven right into the stockade, i The gate Is then closed and barred. It j Is a most exciting time when the ele-j phants first enter the stockade,- for as' soon as they discover they are closed In I' they make frantic efforts to get out, i charging at every side of the stockade, i The men gathered around wave lighted torches In the elephants' faces, and when they get too close, prod them with spears. : They also put the ends of split bamboos Into the fire, which makes them explode with a report like a gun. Y'oung ele phants not accompanied by their mothers frequently get killed as the elephants rush about In the stockade. Before entering the stockade the na tives chant to their gods three times. As the last chant Is finished, the gate, which had been gradually unfastened. Is thrown wide open and the keonkies enter to do battle with the wild elephants. As soon as they enter the stockade they are formed up in front and on each side of the gate to prevent the wild elephants from making a rush and getting out and away. It Is a most Interesting and picturesque sight seeing the keonkies first enter the stockade. They now advance toward the wild elephants and endeavor to separate the one to be caught from the rest. As soon as this Is done two keonkies range up, one on each side. The wild one bolts around the stockade, pursued by the keonkies, until at last one of the drivers! Is able to slip a noose o.'er the head of the wild elephant. In the majority of cases the wild ones are taken straight out of the stockadoj as soon as roped to the keonkies. but In i the case of big tuskers they are usually tied up to trees In the stockade and left) for two or three days without food, to weaken them. The wild elephants, afteri being taken out of the stockade, are as1 soon as possible removed to the training' ground, where would-be purchasers can; inspect them. Sometimes we have a good; deal of excitement In the stockade when! a newly-roped wild elephant drags the1 tame ones clear off their feet, and accl-1 dents frequently occur.
