ELEPHANT HUNTING, ETC. 199
to
pay the price that might be set upon it, but could not persuade the
Siamese to part with it. The result was war and a disastrous defeat for
the Siamese, resulting in the subjugation of their country.*
Of
the various devices used in the Belgian Congo for maiming and killing
elephants, that employed by the Bengalas, and also by the Waregas, is
rather distinctive. A heavy mass of wood in which is embedded a sharp,
triangular iron point, is suspended vertically at a considerable
height from two trees on either side of an elephant trail, and one end
of the line which maintains it in place is attached to a block of wood
placed in the middle of the trail, so that a passing elephant treading
upon this block will release the suspended lance. Because of the great
weight of the wooden mass and the height from which the lance falls,
the wound inflicted upon the beast is a terrible and deadly one. While
the natives as a general rule depend upon such devices, or upon their
native weapons in the hunt for elephants, a very few have been
instructed by the Arabs in the use of firearms for tlnVpurpose.t
Elephant
hunters in Sangoland, Africa, are not willing to trust to their natural
ability and experience alone, but are great believers in the efficacy
of spells and conjurations. Before setting out on a hunting expedition
the hunters assemble at a spot where two roads cross each other; here
an offering of meal is made to the appropriate divinity. The leader of
the party then seizes a knife and makes superficial cuts on various
parts of the arms of each hunter; the blood
*Johannis
HugonLs Linschotii, "India Orientalis;" Lat. trans, by Teucrides
Annseus Lonicerus, Francoforti," 1599, p. 46; cap. XIX. Plates by the
brothers De Bry. PI. XVIII shows the King of Cochin-China riding on an
elephant. Both the king and his courtiers are almost nude. The
sovereign was distinguished from his nobles by a richly jewelled
bracelet, or amulet, and by large earrings set with precious stones.
jCollection de monographes ethnologiques, I, Les Bengala, by C. van Overbergh and E. de Jonghe, Bruxelles, 1907, p. 164.
