HABITS OF THE ELEPHANT. 



sway backwards and forwards, at another it will stoop and rise continually, or it will be 

 getting sand or water and sprinkling it over its body, or it will pluck a leafy branch and 

 wave it slowly and gracefully over its back. It is very fond of bathing, and has a curious 

 predilection for drawing a mixture of mud and water into its trunk, and discharging it 

 over its body. It is an admirable swimmer, and will cross large rivers with perfect 

 ease. Sometimes it prefers walking on the bed of the river, merely protruding the tip 

 of its proboscis above the surface for the purpose of breathing. 



The Indian Elephant is employed more for purposes of state or for sport than for 

 hard labor, and is especially trained for tiger-hunting. As there is a natural dread of 

 the tiger deeply implanted in the Elephant's being, it is no easy matter to teach the 

 animal to approach its brindled foe. A stuffed tiger-skin is employed for this purpose, 

 and is continually presented to the Elephant until he learns to lose all distrust of the 

 inanimate object, and to strike it, to crush it with his feet, or to pierce it with his tusks. 

 After a while, a boy is put inside the tiger-skin, in order to accustom the Elephant to 

 the sight of the tiger in motion. The last stage in the proceedings is to procure a dead 

 tiger, and to substitute it for the stuffed representative. Even with all this training, it 

 most frequently happens, that when the Elephant is brought to face a veritable 

 living tiger, the fierce bounds, savage yells, and furious eyes of the beast are so dis- 

 couraging, that he turns tail, and makes the best of his way from the spot. Hardly 

 one Elephant out of ten will face an angry tiger. 



The Elephant is always guided by a mahout, who sits astride upon its neck and directs 

 the movements of the animal by means of his voice, aided by a kind of spiked hook, called 

 the haunkus, which is applied to the animal's head in such a manner as to convey the 

 driver's wishes to the Elephant. The persons who ride upon the Elephant are either 

 placed in the howdah, a kind of wheelless carriage strapped on the animal's back, or 

 sit upon a large pad, which is furnished with cross ropes in order to give a firm hold. 

 The latter plan is generally preferred, as the rider is able to change his position at will, 

 and even to recline upon the Elephant's back if he should be fatigued by the heavy 

 rolling gait of the animal. The Elephant generally kneels in order to permit the riders to 

 mount, and then rises from the ground with a peculiar swinging motion that is quite 

 indescribable, and is most discomposing to novices in the art. Very small Elephants 

 are furnished with a saddle like that which is used upon horses, and is fitted with stir- 

 rups. The saddle, however, cannot be conveniently used on animals that are more than 

 six feet in height. 



The size of Elephants, has been greatly exaggerated, as sundry writers have given 

 fourteen or sixteen feet as an ordinary height, and have even mentioned instances where 

 Elephants have attained to the height of twenty feet. It is true that the enormous bulk 

 of the animal makes its height appear much greater than is really the case. Eight feet 

 is about the average height of a large Elephant, and nine or ten feet is the utmost 

 maximum to which the creature ever attains. 



It is rather remarkable that the Elephants should be so fond of intoxicating liquids 

 as to be induced by the promise of porter, beer, wine, or spirits, to perform tricks which 

 it would otherwise refuse to attempt. The natural food of the Elephant consists of grass 

 and various leaves, which it plucks daintily with the tip of its trunk, and always beats 

 against its forelegs, in order to shake off the dust. While feeding the Elephant never 

 seems to be in a hurry, but eats deliberately, and often pauses in its meal, as if engaged 

 in contemplation. In this country, the average daily food of an adult Elephant is one 

 truss of hay, one truss. of straw, a bushel of barley-meal and bran made into a mash, 

 thirty pounds of potatoes, and six pints of water. In Ceylon, each Elephant employs 

 two men in cutting leaves for its sustenance, and a very large animal would probably 

 require the services of three leaf-cutters. 



The general color of the Elephant is brown, of a lighter tint when the animal is at 

 liberty, and considerably deeper when its hide is subjected to rubbing with a cocoa-nut 

 brush, and plenty of oil. Sometimes an albino or white Elephant is seen in the forests, 

 the color of the animal being a pinky-white, and aptly compared to the nose of a white 

 horse. The King of Ava, one of whose titles is " Lord of the White Elephants," generally 

 contrives to monopolize every White Elephant, and employs them for purposes of state. 



