170 The Wild Elephant. 



his keeper, and knelt down at the accustomed word of 

 command, so as to bring his forehead within view of the 

 rifles. ^ 



The working elephant is always a delicate animal, 

 and requires watchfulness and care. As a beast of 

 burden it is unsatisfactory ; for although in point of 

 mere strength there is scarcely any weight which could 

 be conveniently placed on it that it could not carry, it 

 is difficult to pack the load without causing abrasions 

 that afterwards ulcerate. The skin is easily chafed by 

 harness, especially in wet weather. During either long 

 droughts or too much moisture, an elephant's feet 

 become liable to sores, that render it non-effective for 

 months. Many attempts have been made to provide 

 some protection for the sole of the foot, but from the 

 extreme weight and the peculiar mode of planting the 

 foot, they have all been unsuccessful. The eyes are also 

 Uable to frequent inflammations, and the skill of the 

 native elephant-doctors, which has been renowned since 

 the time of ^lian, is nowhere more strikingly displayed 

 than in the successful treatment of such attacks. ^ In 

 Ceylon, the murrain among the cattle is of frequent 

 occurrence, and carries off great numbers of animals, 

 wald as well as tame. In such visitations the elephants 

 suffer severely, not only those at liberty in the forest, but 

 those carefully tended in the Government stables. Out of 

 a stud of about 40 attached to the department of the 

 Commission of Roads, the deaths between 1841 and 



' A shocking account of the death of Every-Day Book, March 1830, p. 337. 

 this poor animal is given in Hone's ^ /Elian, lib. xiii. c. 7. 



