Chap. I.] STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS. 277 



bitten diu-ing the iiiglit). Little more than three fatal 

 accidents annually on the average of five years, is cer- 

 tainly a small proportion amongst a population estimated 

 at a million and a half, in an island abounding with 

 elephants, with which encounters are daily stimulated 

 by the love of sport or the hope of gain. Were the 

 elephants instinctively vdcious or even highly irritable 

 in their temperament, the destruction of human life 

 under the circumstances must have been infinitely greater. 

 It must also be taken into account, that some of the 

 accidents recorded may have occurred in the rutting 

 season, when elephants are subject to fits of temporary 

 fury, known in India by the term must^ in Ceylon miidda, 

 — a paroxysm which speedily passes away, but during 

 the fury of wliich it is dangerous even for the mahout 

 to approach those ordinarily the tamest and most gentle. 



But, then, the elephant is said to " entertain an ex- 

 traordinary dishke to all quadrupeds ; that dogs run- 

 ning near him produce annoyance ; that he is alarmed 

 if a hare start fi'om her form ; " and from Phny to 

 BufFon every naturahst has recorded his supposed aver- 

 sion to swine. ^ These alleged antipathies are in a great 

 degree, if not entirely, imaginary. The habits of the 

 elephant are essentially harmless, his Avants lead to no 

 rivalry with other animals, and the food to which he is 

 most attached is found in such abundance that he ob- 

 tains it without an efibrt. In the quiet sohtudes of 

 Ceylon, elephants may constantly be seen browsing 

 peacefully in the immediate \dcinity of and in close 

 contact with other animals. I have seen groups of deer 

 and wild buffaloes rechning in the sandy bed of a river 

 in the dry season, and elephants plucking the branches 

 close beside them. They show no impatience in the 

 company of the elk, the bear, and the wild hog ; and on 

 the other hand, I have never discovered an instance in 

 which these animals have evinced any apprehension of 



^ Menageries, ^-c, " The Elephaut/ ' ch. iii. 

 T 3 



