MISMANAGEMENT BY ATTENDANTS. 97 



prevent. Thus, on days wlien the elephant is not required for work, the 

 mahout and grass-cutter will, if left to themselves, cook their morning meal, 

 smoke, and pass the time until nearly mid-day, without even loosing their 

 elephants, except to take them to water. They should be required to 

 hobble them early, and turn the poor beasts out to graze and stretch their 

 limbs till wanted ; but as this would give them the trouble of going in 

 search of them if they strayed, they will not do it unless seen after. When 

 there are fields near, one attendant can accompany the elex)hant to prevent 

 it doing damage. 



Then, instead of cutting its fodder early, and taking the elephant out to 

 bring in its load in the cool hours of morning or evening, the grass-cutter, 

 who does not mind the hot sun himself, often takes it at mid-day, as that 

 arrangement suits his hours of breakfasting, &c. Even the best mahouts, 

 extraordinary though it may seem, seldom take the trouble of putting their 

 elepliants under a tree at mid-day ; and if the unfortunate animal throws 

 dust and litter upon its back, to shield itself in some measure from the sun, 

 it is heartily abused for giving the attendants the trouble of cleaning it 

 afterwards. Those in charge of the elephants and their attendants cannot 

 do better than bear in mind what the natural requirements of the former 

 are, and make the attendants' hours and habits conform to the elephants', 

 instead of the reverse, as is too frequently the case. 



The most common ailment amongst elephants is yaarha'hd. It is of 

 two kinds: one called dropsical yaarha'hd, in which the neck, chest, abdo- 

 men, and sometimes the legs, swell "with accumulations of water beneath 

 the skin; the other is wasting yaarlahd, in which the animal falls grad- 

 ually away to mere skin and bone. Both kinds are exceedingly fatal if 

 they become established. They are most common amongst newly-caught 

 elephants — in fact, hardly any such escape the affection to some extent. 

 I have never seen a wild elephant suffering from it. The disease is induced 

 by the radical change of food and habits undergone by newly -caught 

 elephants. Freedom from unnecessary restraint, liberty to graze at will, 

 protection from all debilitating causes, such as exposure to the sun or 

 inclement weather, are the best preventives and restoratives. Medicine is 

 of little avail ; and, if the disease is once allowed to become serious, there 

 is every probability of a fatal termination. 



Sore backs, from the chafing of gear, are exceedingly tedious to cure. 

 The mistake usually made by mahouts is to allow the wounds to heal on 

 the surface whilst mischief may be going on inside. A free use of the 

 knife, great care in cleansing the wound, and the application of plenty of 

 turpentine, strongly impregnated with camphor, are the best methods for 



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