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Rbgtatt. generally coaxes and flatter* him, scratching his head 

 |U- and trunk \\ ith a long bamboo, split at one end into 

 "Y""" many piece*, and driving away the (lies from am 

 occasioned by the hurt- and bruise* he got l-\ ! 

 fort* to rtcape. The keeper likewise keeps Dim cool, 



.'Vcr his body. In a few d 



advance- c.uitiiHi-ly to his side, and -troke- and pat- 

 him with his hand, speaking to him all the while in a 

 * soothing tone of voice, and in a little time he In-jims to 



know his keeper, and to ol>cy his command-. By de- 

 - the keeper becomes familiar to him, and at length 

 gets upon hU back from one of the tame elephants, and, 

 as the animal becomes more tractable, he advances gra- 

 dually forward, till at last he i- permitted to seat him- 

 .clt'on his neck, from which place lie afterwards regu- 

 lates all his motions. The iron hook w ith w hich they 

 direct them is pretty heavy, about sixteen inches long, 

 with a .-tr.iight s|>oke advancing a little beyond the curve 

 <>f the hook. When they wish to turn them, they catch 

 one of their e;irs with this instrument, and, by pre-sin^it 

 into their skin, make them move in any direction that 

 is required. 



While they are training in this manner, the tame 

 elephants lead out the others in turn for the sake of ex- 

 ercise, and likewise to ease their legs from the cords 

 with which they are tied, and which are apt to gall 

 them -e verely, un less they are regularly slacked and shift- 

 ed. In the course of rive or six weeks, the elepliant 

 becomes obedient to his keeper, his fetters are taken 

 oft' by degrees, and generally in about five or six months 

 he suffers Imuself to be conducted by his keeper from 

 one place to another. Care, however, is always taken 

 not to let him approach his former haunts, lest a recol- 

 lection of the freedom he there enjoyed should induce 

 him again to recover his liberty. This obedience to 

 his conductor seems to proceed partly from a sense of 

 gratitude, as it is in some measure voluntary ; for, when- 

 ever an elephant takes fright, or is determined to run 

 away, all the exertions of the keeper cannot prevent 

 him, even by beating or digging the pointed iron hook 

 into his head with which he directs him. On such an 

 occasion, the anim.d totally disregards the feeble efforts, 

 otherwise he could -shake or pull him off with his trunk, 

 and dash him to pieces. Accidents of this kind hap- 

 j>en almo.st every year, especially to those keepers who 

 attend the large males, and are in general owing to their 

 own carcii >d neglect. It is necessary to tre it 



the malts with much greater severity than the females, 

 to keep them in awe ; but it is too common a practice 

 among the keepers, either to be negligent in using pro- 

 per means to render their elephants tractable, or to trust 

 too much to their good nature, before they are thorough- 

 ly acquainted with their dispositions. 



For further information concerning the history of the 

 elephant, we refer our readers to the following works: 

 Cuvier's papers Sur lex fcli-ji/imix vivans ct fossiles, iu 

 the Annali du Museum d' Hi^'uir*- \ulitrclle, vol. viii. 

 and to his work on the fossil bones of quadrupeds ; La 

 'M<-;a^crif du Mn-rnni \tit/n(il d'Hutoirc Xnluiclli', 

 1801 ; Cor-e Scott's (ilt.ii mi/ion* on differt'iit tijifcn-a 

 fiflke Atialic Eltphantf, in the l'hilos( l '. ' Tiiiuac- 

 tiontjbr 17;)9, 1'urt ii. and to An Account oj the Method 

 of catching ii-ild J-'./i-i ./tunta, by the name gentleman, in the 

 third \olmne of Extracts from the A-.iuli Hcsrurcfirs ; 

 II- > ' < -t/lon ; the Trawls of Sparjmaii, 

 \iiil' nl. .;tid Barrow, (j. p.) 



ELI'.l'HANTA, a small mountain i-le, withadouble 

 top, wooded to the summit. It is situated about 

 Ales in an easterly direction from Bombay, and is nut 



ill :u j mile* in ciivtnnferemi . IN proper name Klfplini- 

 i-t'.ili 1'ouri ; but I'.uropeans call it Llipiuma, t' n , m 

 the figure of an elephant, as large a.s lite, con-picuoin 

 in black stone near the i-horc, anil ap]iarcntlv cut 

 the rock on which it stand-. A neat M 

 l.mdii ntains nil the inhabitant ' nul. 



They are under British protection, and pay L.J(i annu- 

 ally to the Bombay government. 



lint the spot is only deserving of notice, from its ex- 

 hibiting, with the exception of the caves ,,l' I-'.llora. pcr- 

 l:;]]j* unrivalled monuments <>!' labour and superstitious 



The cave of Klephiinta, as it i- commonly ( 

 has furnished ample materials for the curiosity and n- 

 r of the student of eastern antiquities. "The mv- 

 thological symbols and .iculpture have bicn traced to 

 Be of Hindoo origin and execution; but their date is 

 lo-t in fable and obscurity. Whatever mixture of I-"- 

 gyptian or Ethiopian extraction may luve been engraft- 

 eil on the stock of Hindoo mythology, undoubtedly the 

 Brahmins can claim a large portion of their sy-tcm of 

 theology to be of no foreign offspring, but the result 

 of their own subtilty and invention. How vain mu-t 

 it bc,'at a remote period of time, to attempt to account 

 for the origin and variety of the symbols of worship of 

 a nation ."link in idolatry, since the dreams of cnthusi- 

 a-m, the fictions of poetry, the caprice of princes, the 

 craft of priests, and the boundless powers of human 

 imagination, all conspire to raise and embellish the 

 shrines of superstition, and to propagate delusion and 

 absurdity ! We shall give our readers such account of 

 the monuments at Elephanta, as are drawn from the 

 most authentic sources, and relations of travellers who 

 have repaired to the spot. 



The cave, about three quarters of a mile from the 

 beach, is approached by an ascent through romantic pas- 

 ses of the mountain, and bur.-t- unexpectedly upon the 

 eye. A spacious excavation in the solid rock <>t 

 feet in length, by an equal breadth, presents a magnifi- 

 cent spectacle of elaborate sculpture and mythological 

 embellishment. The roof is supported by pillars of the 

 rock left standing ; their order is uncommon, but effect 

 agreeable. The reader is referred to the article of Ci 

 vii. AUCIUTKC iiniE in this work, for a 1'late illustrative CLI 

 of part of the interior of the cave. The figures which 

 decorate the walls are in relief so prominent, that they 

 arc attached to the rock only by the back. Gigantic 

 forms are observed, some with aspects of benignity, 

 others with looks of terror. Neither in design or exe- 

 cution can the sculpture be compared to the monu- 

 ments of Grecian art; but it much surpas-es in i !c- 

 gance, the Egyptian models, ami the bas reliefs from 

 the ruins of Persepolis. The upper extremity of the 

 cave is chiefly distinguished by the profusion of figures. 

 Here, the most striking is a bu.-t 18 feet high, of a fi- 

 gure with three heads, expressive of that being of 

 whom the Hindoos had the most sublime conceptions. 

 The middle head represent? Hrnhmn, or the creative 

 attribute ; the head on the left, \ ishnoo, or the preser- 

 ving ; and on the right, Seva the destroying, or chan- 

 ging, lirahma'.s face is represented full, w ith a look of 

 dignity and com]Kuure ; his head and neck profusely 

 covered with ornament.-'. The face of \ ishnoo is in 

 profile, with, likewise, a complacent regard, and a rich- 

 ly decorated ru\:d. One hand bears a lotus (lower, 

 the other a fruit resembling a |>oinegranate ; on one of 

 hi.- wrists is seen a ring, as worn by the Hindoos at 

 present. Scva, on the contrary, frown- \\ ith a teriitic 

 coiuiteimnee in profile, with projecting forehead, and 

 staring eyes. S:i;:kc.s supply the place of hair ; and 





