738 HABITS OF THE ELEPHANT. 
sway backwards and forwards, at another it will stoop and rise continually, or it will be 
getting sand or water and sprinkling it over its body, or it will pluck a leafy branch and 
wave it slowly and gracefully over its back. It is very fond of bathing, and has a curious 
predilection for drawing a mixture of mud and water into its trunk, and discharging it 
over its body. It is an admirable swimmer, and will cross large rivers with perfect ease. 
Sometimes it prefers walking on the bed of the river, merely protruding the tip of its 
proboscis above the surface for the purpose of breathing. 
The Indian Elephant is employed more for purposes of state or for sport than for hard 
labour, and is especially trained for tiger-hunting. As there is a natural dread of the tiger 
deeply implanted in the Elephant’s being, it is no easy matter to teach the animal to 
approach its brindled foe. A stuffed tiger-skin is employed for this purpose, and is 
continually presented to the Elephant until he learns to lose all distrust of the inanimate 
object, and to strike it, to crush it with his feet, or to pierce it with his tusks. After a 
while, a boy is put inside the tiger-skin, in order to accustom the Elephant to the sight of 
the tiger in motion. The last stage in the proceedings is to procure a dead tiger, and to 
substitute it for the stuffed representative. Even with all this training, it most frequently 
happens, that when the Elephant is brought to face a veritable living tiger, the fierce 
bounds, savage yells, and furious eyes of the beast are so discouraging, that he turns tail, 
and makes the best of his way from the spot. Hardly one Elephant out of ten will face 
an angry tiger. 
The Elephant is always guided by a mahout, who sits astride upon its neck and directs 
the movements of the animal by means of his voice, aided by a kind of spiked hook, called 
the haunkus, which is applied to the animal's head in such a manner as to convey the driver’s 
wishes to the Elephant. The persons who ride upon the Elephant are either placed in 
the howdah, a kind of wheelless carriage strapped on the animal’s back, or sit upon a 
large pad, which is furnished with cross ropes in order to give a firm hold. The latter 
plan is generally preferred, as the rider is able to change his position at will, and even to 
recline upon the Elephant’s back if he should be fatigued by the heavy rolling gait of the 
animal, The Elephant generally kneels in order to permit the riders to mount, and then 
rises from the ground with a peculiar swinging motion that is quite indescribable, and is 
most discomposing to novices in the art. Very small Elephants are furnished with a 
saddle like that which is used upon horses, and is fitted with stirrups. The saddle, 
however, cannot be conveniently used on animals that are more than six feet in height. 
The size of Elephants has been greatly exaggerated, as sundry writers have given 
fourteen or sixteen feet as an ordinary height, and have even mentioned instances where 
Elephants have attained to the height of twenty feet. It is true that the enormous bulk 
of the animal makes its height appear much greater than is really the case. Hight feet is 
about the average height of a large Elephant, and nine or ten feet is the utmost maximum 
to which the creature ever attains. 
It is rather remarkable that the Elephants should be so fond of intoxicating liquids 
as to be induced by the promise of porter, beer, wine, or spirits, to perform tricks which 
it would otherwise refuse to attempt. The natural food of the Elephant consists of grass 
and various leaves, which it plucks daintily with the tip of its trunk, and always beats 
against its fore-legs, in order to shake off the dust. While feeding, the Elephant never 
seems to be in a hurry, but eats deliberately, and often pauses in its meal, as if engaged in 
contemplation. In this country, the average daily food of an adult Elephant is one truss 
of hay, one truss of straw, a bushel of barley-meal and bran made into a mash, thirty 
pounds of potatoes, and six pints of water. In Ceylon, each Elephant employs two men 
in cutting leaves for its sustenance, and a very large animal would probably require the 
services of three leaf-cutters. 
The general colour of the Elephant is brown, of a lighter tint when the animal is at 
liberty, and considerably deeper when its hide is subjected to rubbing with a cocoa-nut 
brush, and plenty of oil. Sometimes an albino or white Elephant is seen in the forests, 
the colour of the animal being a pinky-white, and aptly compared to the nose of a white 
horse. The King of Ava, one of whose titles is “Lord of the White Elephants,” generally 
contrives to monopolize every White Elephant, and employs them for purposes of state, 
