CHAPTER III 

 THE ELEPHANT (continued) 



THE foregoing chapter is sufficient to explain the ferocity of the 

 male elephant at certain seasons which periodically affect the 

 nervous system. It would be easy to multiply examples of this 

 cerebral excitement, but such repetitions are unnecessary. The 

 fact remains that the sexes differ materially in character, and that 

 for general purposes the female is preferred in a domesticated state, 

 although the male tusker is far more powerful, and when thoroughly 

 trustworthy is capable of self-defence against attack, and of energy 

 in work that would render it superior to the gentler but inferior 

 female. 1 



It may be inferred that a grand specimen of a male elephant is 

 of rare occurrence. A creature that combines perfection of form 

 with a firm but amiable disposition, and is free from the timidity 

 which unfortunately distinguishes the race, may be quite invalu- 

 able to any resident in India. The actual monetary value of an 

 elephant must of necessity be impossible to decide, as it must 

 depend upon the requirements of the purchaser and the depth of 

 his pocket. Elephants differ in price as much as horses, and the 

 princes of India exhibit profuse liberality in paying large sums for 

 animals that approach their standard of perfection. 



The handsomest elephant that I have ever seen in India belongs 

 to the Rajah of Nandgaon, in the district bordering upon Reipore. 

 I saw this splendid specimen among twenty others at the durbar 

 of the Chief Commissioner of the Central Provinces in December 

 1887, and it completely eclipsed all others both in size and per- 

 fection of points. The word "points" is inappropriate when 

 applied to the distinguishing features of an elephant, as anything 



1 The female differs from other quadrupeds in the position of her teats, 

 which are situated upon the breast between the fore legs. She is in the habit 

 of caressing her calf with her trunk during the operation of suckling. 



