286 THE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA. 



at a fair; but the difficulty is ten times greater in the 

 case of elephants. Every one connected with the keeping 

 of elephants (and camels) is by nature and training from 

 his youth upwards a consummate rascal ; and the animal 

 himself is subject to numerous and often obscure vices 

 and unsoundnesses. I have given in an appendix (A) 

 some hints regarding these, as well as on the management of 

 elephants, which would scarcely interest the general reader. 

 Elephants differ as widely in their " points " as do horses ; and 

 it is very difficult for an uneducated eye to distinguish these, 

 particularly in the fattened-up condition the animals generally 

 carry at the fair. Furthermore, and fortunately enough for 

 us, a native's idea of good points in an elephant (as in a horse) 

 differs in toto from ours. He looks not at all to shape, or 

 good action, or likelihood of standing hard work ; but first of 

 all to the presence or absence of certain accidental marks,- such 

 as the number of toe-nails on the foot, which may be five or six 

 but not four ; the tail, which must be perfect and with a full 

 tuft ; and the colour of the palate, which must be red without 

 spot of black. Some of the best elephants I have known 

 failed in each and all of these points. Then a female or tusk- 

 less male is of small value to a native, who wants big white 

 tusks. A rough high action, and a trunk and forehead of very 

 light colour, are greatly in request by the native buyer, who 

 looks entirely to show, and covers up every part of the animal 

 except the face with an enormous parti-coloured cloth. We, 

 on the other hand, dislike the high rough action, and never by 

 any chance purchase a tusker, who is nearly certain to be ill- 

 tempered. We look for a small well-bred-looking head and 

 trunk, and a clear confident eye devoid of piggish expression, 

 fast easy paces, straight back and croup, wide loins, and gene- 

 rally well-developed bone and muscle a great test of which 



