THE ASIATIC ELEPHANT. 171 
dusky hue by which it is usually distinguished in con- 
sequence of the dirt and other matters with which it is 
incrusted, and assumes a perfect flesh-colour marked 
with numerous round and blackish spots. This natural 
colour is, however, lost almost immediately on their 
reaching the land, when they uniformly scatter them- 
selves all over by means of their trunk with the mud or 
dust which first falls in their way. So fond are they of 
this process that they commonly recur to it whenever 
an opportunity offers. The bathing appears to be abso- 
lutely necessary in order to keep their skins to a certain 
extent supple and flexible; for which purpose their 
keepers, in captivity, occasionally have recourse to the 
smearing them with oil as a substitute. 
Like other herbivorous quadrupeds they are, generally 
speaking, quiet and harmless, intent solely upon pro- 
viding for their wants, and never attacking man or other 
animals unless provoked or when under the influence of 
excitement. In this latter case they make use not only 
of their proboscis, which they wield with great dexterity 
as a weapon of offence, but also of their tusks, with 
which they inflict the most tremendous wounds. Their 
speed in pursuit corresponds rather with the cumbrous- 
ness than with the magnitude of their frame, the exces- 
sive weight of which soon renders them weary, and 
compels them to slacken their pace; which, when urged 
to the utmost, is barely equal to that of a horse of mode- 
rate fleetness. They will sometimes penetrate in quest 
of food into the rice fields and sugar plantations, in 
which they commit the most extensive ravages, not so 
much by the quantity which they consume as by that 
which they destroy. The solitary individuals, which are 
