7 6 The Life of an Elephant 



of a neighbouring stream ; then, turning, roll it 

 over till it lay in the waterway, to be carried down 

 by the next flood. During the whole of the dry 

 season he was thus employed from dawn till 

 dark, spending his nights in the forest, tethered 

 by a heavy chain, to pick up what subsistence he 

 might find. When the monsoon began to blow, 

 the dragging came to an end, and his duty was 

 to push each stranded log into the current ; or, 

 more dangerous still, to release a jam that 

 blocked up the waterway. This labour was 

 not so incessantly strenuous as the dry season 

 dragging, and more opportunities occurred of 

 grazing during the day. He had next to aid 

 in the construction of the huge rafts which 

 were to float away in the sluggish current, 

 and for this purpose some quiet backwater 

 was selected, each log being guided into place 

 and firmly secured by ropes of cane, first through 

 the drag holes at either end and then to cross- 

 bars lashed with the same material. When com- 

 plete, the raft might be sixty yards or more in 

 length ; it undulated with the waves of the river, 

 or lay like some gigantic marine creature just 



