Elephant Hunting in Mysore

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 21, 25 January 1936, Page 25 (Supplement)

Elephant Hunting in Mysore

(ARTICLE 2.) WHILST in pursuit of his work as an elephant hunter, Sanderson was struck with wonder at the remains of the dwellings and works of a bygone population which he found engulfed in the jungle. The whole country bore traces of having once been better populated than at the time when he saw it, and many of the remains spoke of the industry and culture of inhabitants of long ago. Temples, monuments and sculptures were grand in conception and admirable in execution, and old irrigation works were in his opinion far beyond any of the appliances used by present-day natives. At times wandering in the forest, Sanderson would muse on the scenes of former life and industry. It must have been indeed a strange experience to venture where human voices are now hushed and wild nature, deprived of her dominion for a few short years, again reigns supreme. What happened to those earlier inhabitants? Sanderson tells us that broken images were to be seen everywhere; wells were choked and dry; bears ,and panthers sought shelter in the temples where offerings were presented to the village gods, but the people have passed away without other records than the jungle-over-grown ruins, which alone have defied time. Did the thought pass through the huntsman's mind that where the sportsman treads to-day cultivation may smile and happy voices be heard long after the jungle is no more? However, there was work to be done. Herds of elephants which were causing much damage to surrounding country had to be caught, and to Sanderson fell the task of catching them. When he commenced his work of elephant catching, he left the city of Mysore for Morlay, a village 41 miles to the south. Morlay was an

In this article Mr. Sanderson tells of the discovery of remains of lost villages suggesting the existence at some period of a forgotten race. The ruins of dwellings and temples seemed to indicate the existence of towns inhabited by civilised peoples who, in the passing of the centuries, have been swept off the face of the earth by plague perhaps, or warfare, and whose habitations have been hidden for years in the impenetrable jungle.

' excellent pjace for his object, as elephants had been in the habit of visiting adjacent villages at certain seasons, and remaining in the jungle for weeks on end. Thus there was no necessity for following them into their hill fastnesses, where much hardship would have had to be undergone by all engaged in the pursuit. Morlay was a charming place in which to have one's headquarters. The views of the Billigarungun hills, the more distant Nilgaris, the splendid sheets of water close at hand, and the wide stretches .of rice fields which, they nourish, the da to-trees and

the coconut palms fringing the artificial lakes give a vieta which for sheer beauty must surely be unrivalled in the southern lands of India. Within a radius of half a mile from Sanderson's bungalow elephants, tigers, panthers, bears and jungle game roamed free and at will. The climate, however,. was not particularly healthy, nearly all the hunting party suffering at various times from severe fever. In elephant hunting, as in other animal hunting, trackers are the hunter's right-hand 'men. The skill

of certain tribes of American Indians in following a trail is proverbial, but it is Sanderson's opinion that it cannot excel that of the jungle people of India. The' skill of tracking lies in first observing, and reading, what an untrained eye would pass over or be unable to interpret. On this occasion Sanderson selected hie five best men, and appointed them Elephant trackers, their duty being to go to the jungle within a certain circuit every morning and . examine tracks of elephante, find out f their whereabouts, and: generally : keep him informed of all jungle, occurrences. More plucky and reliable men Sanderson never had. After their first capture he had a small silver elephant made for each to wear on a green cap, and these, it seemed, were the pride of the owners' hearts. Sanderson's trackers' names were Dodda Sidda, Koon Sidda, Mada, Mjirga and Mastee. In cases where actual footprints fail, trackers are guided in following an animal by broken twigs, displaced blades of grass, dew shaken from the, leaves whilst others are covered by it, and other signs. They can also judge with wonderful correctness the. date of different trails. • When an animal has been moving about in the same locality for hours, and many' different impressions have been left, much skill is required to determine the latest. Some may have been exposed to the burning rays of the sun,- others sheltered from it. Tn such a case, the latter, though possibly hours older than the former, looks fresher and would mislead the inexpert. Sanderson's methods of catching wild elephants and his subsequent efforts to tame them will be explained in future articles. (To be continued.)] ■