The End of my Freedom <I>a Story Told by a Captive Elephant</I>

Abstract

The narrative embodies the details constituting the "Pit Method" of capturing elephants as practised in Travancore-Cochin. Where the pits are usually dug and at what time of the year, how they are camouflaged and how the unwary elephant falls into it are all described as if the story is narrated by the elephant itself. The captives' experiences inside the pit and how it was noosed in, brought out of the pit and marched away to the kraal in spite of its incessant efforts to free itself are also described in the elephant's own words.