156 



The Wild Elephant. 



my' son," or "ho ! my father," or "my mother," as may 

 be apphcable to the age and sex of the captive. The 

 elephant is at first furious, and strikes in all directions 

 with his trunk ; but the men in front receiving all these 

 blows on the points of their weapons, the extremity of 

 the trunk becomes so sore that the animal curls it up 

 close, and seldom afterwards attempts to use it offen- 

 sively. The first dread of man's power being thus es- 

 tablished, the process of taking him to bathe between 

 two tame elephants is greatly facilitated, and by length- 

 ening the neck rope, and drawing the feet together 

 as close as possible, the process of laying him down 

 in the water is finally accomplished by the keepers 

 pressing the sharp point of their hendoos over the back- 

 bone. 



For many days the roaring and resistance which 

 attend the operation are considerable, and it often re- 

 quires the sagacious interference of the tame elephants 

 to control the refractory wild ones. It soon, however, 

 becomes practicable to leave the latter alone, only 



elephants, called a heiidoo in Ceylon retained the present shape from the 



remotest antiquity. It is figured in the 

 medals of Caracalla in the identical 



Modern Hcndoo. 



^=S 



form in which it is in use at the present 

 Medal of Numidia. day in India. 



The Greeks called it oip^rj, and the 

 and ha%vkus in Bengal, appears to have Romans cusph. 



