When the huntsmen find any of the wild elephants so
entangled, they guide the females towards the palace,
which is called a tambell, in which there is
a door which opens and shuts by machinery, before
which door there is a long straight passage having
trees on both sides, so that it is very close and dark.
When the wild elephant comes to this avenue, he thinks
himself still in the woods. At the end of this
avenue there is a large field, and when the hunters
have enticed their prey into this field, they immediately
send notice to the city, whence come immediately fifty
or sixty horsemen, who beset the field all round.
Then the females which are bred to this business go
directly to the entry of the dark avenue, and when
the wild male elephant has entered therein, the horsemen
shout aloud and make as much noise as possible to
drive the wild elephant forward to the gate of the
palace, which is then open, and as soon as he is gone
in, the gate is shut without any noise. The hunters,
with the female elephants and the wild one, are all
now within the court of the palace, and the females
now withdraw one by one from the court, leaving the
wild elephant alone, finding himself thus alone and
entrapped, he is so madly enraged for two or three
hours, that it is wonderful to behold. He weepeth,
he flingeth, he runneth, he jostleth, he thrusteth
under the galleries where the people stand to look
at him, endeavouring all he can to kill some of them,
but the posts and timbers are all so strong that he
cannot do harm to any one, yet he sometimes breaks
his teeth in his rage. At length, wearied with
violent exertions, and all over in a sweat, he thrusts
his trunk into his mouth, and sucks it full of water
from his stomach, which he then blows at the lookers
on. When he is seen to be much exhausted, certain
people go into the court, having long sharp-pointed
canes in their hands, with which they goad him that
he may enter into one of the stalls made for the purpose
in the court, which are long and narrow, so that he
cannot turn when once in. These men must be very
wary and agile, for though their canes are long, the
elephants would kill them if they were not swift to
save themselves. When they have got him into one
of the stalls, they let down ropes from a loft above,
which they pass under his belly, about his neck, and
round his legs, to bind him fast, and leave him there
for four or five days without meat or drink. At
the end of that time, they loosen all the cords, put
one of the females in beside him, giving them meat
and drink, and in eight days after he is quite tame
and tractable. In my opinion, there is not any
animal so intelligent as the elephant, nor of so much
capacity and understanding, for he will do every thing
that his keeper desires, and seems to lack nothing
of human reason except speech.