THE I]SrDIA]Sr ELEPIIAISTT. 227 



" The Koomeriah, or thorough-bred, takes the first place ; he 

 alone can reach extreme excellence, but all the points required for 

 •oerfection are very rai*ely found in one individual. He is, among 

 elephants, what the thorough-bred is among horses, saving that his. 

 is a natural, not cultivated superiority. The points of the Koo- 

 meriah are ; barrel deep and of great girth ; legs short (especially 

 the hind ones) and colossal, the front pair convex on the front side 

 from the development of muscles ; back straight and flat but slop- 

 ing from shoulder to tail, as an upstanding elephant must be high in 

 front ; head and chest massive ; neck thick and short ; trunk broad 

 at the base and projDortionately heavy throughout ; bump between 

 the eyes prominent ; cheeks full ; the eye full, bright, and kindly ; 

 hind-quarters square and plump ; the skin rumpled, thick, inclin- 

 ing to folds at the root of the tail, and soft. If the face, base of 

 trunk, and ears be blotched with cream-colored markings, the an- 

 imal's value is thereby enhanced. The tail must be long but not 

 touch the ground, and be well feathered. 



" The Dwasala class comprises all animals below this standard 

 but which do not present such marked imperfection as to cause 

 them to rank as Meergas, or third-rates ; all ordinary elephants 

 (about seventy per cent.) are Dwasalas. 



"A pronounced Meerga is the opposite to the Koomeriah. He 

 is leggy, lank, and weedy, with an arched, shai-p-ridged back, diffi- 

 cult to load and liable to galling ; his trunk is thin, flabby, and 

 pendulous ; his neck long and lean ; he falls off behind ; and his 

 hide is thin. His head is small, which is a bad point in any ele- 

 phant ; his eye is j^iggish and restless. His whole appearance is 

 xmthrifty and no amount of feeding or care makes him look fat. 

 The Meerga, however, has his uses ; from his length of leg and 

 Hghtness he is generally speedy ; the heavier Koomeriah is usually 

 slow and stately in his paces." * 



In India, elephants still form the most imposing feature of every 

 ceremonial procession which involves a display of the "pride, pomp 

 and circumstance " of a native ruler or prince. Of all created ani. 

 mals, the lordly elephant alone was born to wear splendid trappings 

 of gold cloth surmounted by a magnificent howdah of gold and sil- 

 ver, a perfect diadem in itself, and carry princes upon his back. 

 At such times the king of beasts is fairly crowned, and no monarch 

 in royal purple ever walks with more majestic tread or bears him- 



* Wild Beasts of India, p. 84. 



