304 



THE ELEPHAXT. 



[Part VIII. 



elepliant, published by Mr. Coese, in the Philosophical 

 Transactions for 1793, he says: "if a wild elephant 

 happens to be separated from its young for only two 

 days, though giving suck, she never after recognises or 

 acknowledges it," although the young one evidently knew 

 its dam, and by its plaintive cries and submissive ap- 

 proaches sohcited her assistance. 



An elephant, if by any accident he becomes hope- 

 lessly separated from his own herd, is not permitted 

 to attach himself to any other. He may browse in the 

 \T.cinity, or frequent the same place to di"ink and to 

 bathe ; but the intercomrse is only on a distant and 

 conventional footing, and no famiharity or intimate 

 association is under any circumstances permitted. To 

 such a height is tliis exclusiveness carried, that even 

 amidst the terror and stupefaction of an elephant 

 corral, when an individual, detached from his own 

 party in the melee and confusion, has been driven 

 mto the enclosm^e with an unbroken herd, I have seen 

 him repulsed in every attempt to take refuge among 

 them, and driven off by heaw blows with thefr trimks 

 as often as he attempted to insinuate himself within 

 the circle wliich they had formed for common security. 

 There can be no reasonable doubt that tliis jealous and 

 exclusive pohcy not only contributes to produce, but 

 mainly serves to perpetuate, the class of sohtaiy elephants 

 which are known by the term goondahs, in India, and 

 from their vicious propensities and predatoiy habits are 

 called Hora^ or Rogues^ in Ceylon.^ 



^ Tlie term " rogue " is scarcely 

 sufficiently accoimted for by sup- 

 posing it to be the English equivalent 

 for the Singhalese word Ilora. In a 

 very curious book, the Life and Ad- 

 ventures of Jonx Christopher 

 Wolf, late jyn'ncipal Serrefari/ of 

 State at Jaffnapatam in C\-yhm, the 

 author says, wlien a male elephant in 

 a quarrel about the females " is beat 

 out of the iield and obliged to go 

 without a consort, he becomes furious 



and mad, killing eveiy living creature 

 be it man or beast : and in this state 

 is called rcmkedor, an object of greater 

 teiTor to a traveller than a hundred 

 wild ones." — P. 142. In another pas- 

 sage, p. 104, he is called 7'unkedor, 

 and I have seen it spelt elsewhere 

 ronqucdue. WoLF was a native of 

 Mecklenburg ; who arrived in Ceylon 

 about 1750, a. b., as Chaplain in one 

 of the Dutch East Indiamen, and 

 being talien into the government 



