MA.V}fA/J.t. 449 



tlio 'lines' or ' j)ilI.-Jift>inJt' of our cantonments, tlie Hve-lon<; <Liy, in a tila/.ins snn, 

 emli'avouring to shfltcr themselves from its cruel rays, by lieapiufj stiaw or <lust and 

 rut)hish on their simmering lieads? It is a cursed siglit, and were tlic delinquent, 

 in place of a high otiicial, some wretched owner of hack ponies, he would soon find 

 himself in the grip of the criminal law, if he did not alter his ways ; and yet to per- 

 sistently expose a nocturnal animal like the elephant with its sensitiyo skin to the 

 full glare of the tropical sun, is at least as cruel, and far more injurious to its health, 

 than working a hack pony or horse with a sore back — a good modeni illustration of 

 the adage that it is safer for some men " to steal a horse than it is for another to look 

 at the animal over a gate." 



The skin of an elephant is thick, hut it is vascular and sensitive, and in tho 

 forests an elephant is often seen covered with blood from the attacks of flics. Tho 

 back consequently readily ' galls.' I myself once returned a Government elephant, 

 of which I had the loan, with a slightly sore back, which rest and a water dressing 

 would have cured in a few days. How many weeks elapsed before the animal was 

 reported fit for duty, I do not remember ; but I was called on to pay for something 

 like a hundredweight of pitch plaster for the wretched beast. The only wonder is 

 that he ever got well at all, if this heating mess was honestly applied, which I 

 hope it was not. The notions of JIahouts and other natives about curing wounds are 

 curious. They imagine that maggots help to dry up a sore, and so tie up an animal's 

 tail, that ho may not disturb the blowflies, or hinder the deposition of maggots 

 in a wound. 



As is well known, male elephants become seasonably very excitable and danger- 

 ous, or ' must,' as they are called in India, and during the height of which paroxysm 

 a thin fluid trickles from a minute orifice in each temple, analogous to the exudation 

 which is secreted by certain glands at the back of the neck of male camels, giving 

 that part the appearance of being moistened with thin treacle ; and this temporal 

 exudation is frequently alluded to in Hindu poetry as a familiar phenomenon, though 

 BO unobservant are too many Europeans of the marvels of nature that some hardly 

 know that such a phenomenon exists. The late popular excitement, however, and 

 the cause which led the Zoological Society to part with their old friend Mumbo,' 

 has somewhat contributed to make more generally known the fact that occasionally, 

 that is, when '■must,' the male elephant is a very dangerous and unmanageable animal. 

 In India the general treatment, elephants at this time are subjected to, is strict 

 confinement and low diet, but a better plan, when practicable, is to turn the animal 

 loose in the forest, near water, whence, if a female elephant is tethered near him, 

 he will never wander far, and may soon be reclaimed. It sometimes, too, happens, 

 through stupidity or fear, that the animal is tied up, and no proper means provided 

 to supply him with water, in which case he soon becomes maddened with thirst, 

 which is all put down to his being ' mxist ' by the ignorant wretches in charge of 

 him. This was the case with an elephant that I once saw tethered near the circuit 

 house at Prome, and the first thing this poor beast did, when it did break loose, was 

 to walk down into the river to drink. I marched towards Allan-myo the next day, 

 and at my first halting-place again made the acquaintance of this animal, now at 

 large. I had marched with three female elephants, and encamped as usual along the 

 road-side. I had turned into bed, when I was roused by hearing my elephants rush 

 past my tent, and on getting up, my Mahouts told mo they had turned the elephants 

 loose for them to escape into the jungle, as the ' must Elephant' was coming up tho 

 road, and, sure enough, I could distinguish the clink of a bit of chain which still 

 remained attached to his leg. There was indeed now no doubt that ho was following 

 the track of my camp, in pursuit of my elephants, and he was followed at a respectful 

 distance by his own Mahout, mounted on another elephant, for tho purpose of watch- 

 ing his movements. The word was now quickly passed for every one in camp to 

 shift for himself, and we were soon all of us inside the village. Ere long tho elephant 

 passed through the camp, and, not detecting the elephants, went further on. As soon 

 as it was light, I secured my elephants, struck camp, and marched off through the 

 jungle to evade pursuit. I had hardly quitted the ground, before back came the 

 elephant, who had evidently found that he had overshot his mark, and after destroying 



29 



