Elephant Catching In Ceylon

As part of my blast from the past series from the old newspapers that I own ... 

The Illustrated London News - 13th August 1864

I thought that you might be interested in how to capture an elephant in Ceylon. Not a story that we see in the newspapers of today, but the sort of subject matter of abiding interest to our ancestors of even just sixty years ago, let alone those of 150 years ago, when much of the world was fearful, heathenish, exotic and mysterious in about equal measures.

 

Even in 1902, Joseph Conrad was able to describe the Belgium Congo as the 'Heart of Darkness' (a tag that particular state has never lost), but other areas, such as Britain's Indian Empire, which included Ceylon, were seen as more exotic. So The Illustrated London News August 1864 was able to include in a packed edition, a very interesting story from Ceylon on the capturing and taming of wild elephants.
 

The story starts with a detailed background explanation of the capture .....

The Main Story

But then its accompanied by some very rich illustrations .....

The 'Krall' and the Grandstand for the Europeans

The Beaters And Tamed Elephant ....

With Beautifully Drawn Pictures Of
Wild Elephants And Captured Elephant

Captured Elephant Led Away By Tame Elephants
 ..... A Rather Brutal Practise.

Photographs may have removed the need for these kind of illustrations but there's no denying that we certainly lost a little bit of beauty when they went.

Please note that for the purposes of the post, I have cleaned the newsprint and images up.