Copy 1, Volume 4

An historical miscellany of the curiosities and rarities in nature and art. Comprising new and entertaining descriptions of the most surprising volcanos, caverns, cataracts, whirlpools, waterfalls, earthquakes, thunder, lightning, and other wonderful and stupendous phenomena of nature.

Date:: [1794-1800]

Credit: An historical miscellany of the curiosities and rarities in nature and art. Comprising new and entertaining descriptions of the most surprising volcanos, caverns, cataracts, whirlpools, waterfalls, earthquakes, thunder, lightning, and other wonderful and stupendous phenomena of nature. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$Should they at any time advance, tlie alarm is given, and all the people immediately make a noife and ii(e their rattles to make them , keep at a greater dillance. In this manner they are gradually brought to the keddah, or plaice where they are to be lecnred. As ; the natives are extremely flow in their operations, they feldom brinu’ the herd above one circle in a day, except on an emergency, when they exert themlelves and advance two circles. The-y have no tents or covering but the thick woods, which, during the day, keep off the rays of the iun ; and at night they lleep by the fires they have lighted, upon mats /pread on the ground, wrapt up in a piece of i coarfe cloth. The feafon is then fo mild that the people coniinue very healthy ; and an accident leldom happens except to flragglers about the otitfkirts ol the wood, who are lomeiinies, though very orely, carried off by tigers. The keddah, or place where the heid is to be fecured, is differently confiruefed indifferent places; here it conlifls of three cnclolurcs, communicating with each other by means of narrow openings or gateways. The outer enclofure, or the one next to the place where the elephants are to enter, is the largeft , the middle one is generally, though not always, the next in fize ; and the third, or fanhernioll, is the fmallefl. Thcfc propor- tions, however, are not always adhered to in the making of a ked- dah, nor indeed does there appear to us any reafon for making three enclofures; but, as our intentions arc merely to relate taiih, we fhal] proceed to oblerve, that, w hen in the third or’laft enclofurc, the elephants are then only deemed fcciire ; lierc they arc kept fix or eight days, and are regularly though (cantily fed from a licalfoid on the ouilide, clofe to the entrance of an outlet called the Kooinec, which is.about fixty feet long and very narrow, and through which the elephants arc to be taken out one by one. In many places this mode is not adopted ; for, as loon as the herd has been furrounded by a flroiig puliladc, koomkecs are lent in with proper people, \x'ho tie them on the li'or, in the fame manner as was mentioned above of the goondahs, or male elepliants, that are taken fingly. Thefe eii- clolures are all pretty flrong ; but the third is the llrongell, nor arc the elephants deemed I'eciirc, as already obferved, till they have entered it. T his encloliirc has, like the other two, a pretty deep ditch on the infide; and, upon the bank of the earth, that is thrown up from the excavation, a row' of llrong pjlifades of mid- dle-fized trees is planted, flrengthened with crofs bars, which are ( tied to them about the difhuice of fourteen inches from each other ; and thefe are (upported on the outfidc by llrong polls like buttrelfes, having one end lunk in the earth and the other j'reliing againll the crols bars to which they are laflened. When the lierd is brought near to the firft enclofure, or baigeote, w hich has two gateways to- wards the jungle, from which the elephants are, to advance, (ihele, as well as the other gateways, are difguiled with branches of trees and bamboos (luck in the ground (o as to give them the appearance uf a natural jungle,) the greatefl difliculty i.s to get the herd to enter the firft or outer enclohire, for, notwiihllanding the prccau- fions taken to dilguile both tjie entries as well as the palifade w hich lurrounds this enclofure, the palmai, or leader, now appears to fulpeit lome Inare, from the difliculty and hefitation with whicli iu general Ihe palfes into it ; but, as loon as fhe enters, the whole herd implicitly toHows. Immediately, when they have all paffed the gap way>$