86 USES OF ELEPHANTS. 



lie down in water, and the portion to be removed is then sawn oflf. This 

 gives hiin no pain, and is necessary to prevent elephants injuring eacli 

 other, not as a precaution for the safety of their attendants. Tlie rule 

 for cutting an elephant's tusk is as follows : Measure from the eye to the 

 insertion of the tusk in tlie lip ; this length measured from the latter point 

 along the tusk will give the spot where -it should be cut. In young animals 

 a little more should be allowed, as the above measurement may approach 

 too nearly the medullary pulp of the tusk. 



Elepliants are used by Government for the transport of troops, for pro- 

 visioning outpost stations which are not connected by roads, &c. The pro- 

 gressing development of roads and railways in India may be expected to 

 do away with the necessity for the services of some in the most accessible 

 localities, but it will always be necessary to keep a certain number in case 

 of movements in rough and uncivilised countries. Elephants were indis- 

 pensable in the Abyssinian, Looshai, and otlier petty wars and expeditions 

 in recent years, and similar services may be required at any moment. 



The merely useful elephant, whose employment is to assist the move- 

 ment of troops, to transport timber from the forests to river - banks, for 

 shooting purposes, &c., is usually of the Dwdsala or Meerga class. Amongst 

 these the tuskers cost much more than the females. For work males are 

 more powerful ; their tusks enable them to perform a variety of services 

 which the female renders less efficiently ; and for shooting their superior 

 courage is indisputable. A male elephant bears about the same relation in 

 appearance and power to the female as a domestic bull does to a cow. From 

 females being more generally employed in shooting, being more readily 

 procurable, males seldom have the opportunity of showing their natural 

 superiority in courage and strength ; but where they are employed they are 

 immeasurably superior. 



For drauglit, elephants are very valuable, as logs can be brought by their 

 aid from localities where they would otherwise be inaccessible. The elephant's 

 power is most advantageously employed where a great exertion is required for 

 a short distance, through a limited space of time. "When elephants are 

 harnessed, the dragging-rope is either attached to a collar round the neck 

 or to a girth behind the shoulders. The latter plan is the better of the two, 

 as it gives more bearing surface, and there is less liability to gall. To pull 

 from the girth, the elephant's pad is first put on, to prevent the girth-rope 

 from galling the back. The girth, a strong rope ninety feet in length, is then 

 passed tightly several times round the elephant behind the shoulders, and a 

 small breast-rope is attached to prevent it slii)ping backwards. The pulling 

 rope or chain is then fastened to the girth, half-way up the elephant's side. 



