Ivii 



with long bamboos, to tlie accompanyment of the most extrava- 

 gant eulogies of the animal, sung and shouted at it at the top of 

 their voices. The animal of course lashes out furiously at first, 

 but in a few days it ceases to act on the oifensive, or as natives 

 say " shurum lugta hai" (It becomes ashamed of itself), Ropea 

 are now tied round its body, and it is mounted at its picket for 

 several days. It is then taken out for exercise secured between 

 two tame elephants. The ropes still remain round its body to 

 enable the mahout to hold on should the elephant try to shake 

 him off. A man precedes it with a spear to teach it to halt when 

 ordered to do so ; whilst as the tame elephants wheel to the right 

 or left the mahout presses its neck with his knees, and taps it on 

 the head with a small stick, to train it to turn in the required 

 direction. To teach an elephant to kneel it is taken into water 

 about 5 feet deep when the sun is hot, and upon being pricked 

 on the back with a pointed .stick it soon lies do^vn, partly to 

 avoid the pain, and partly from inclination for a bath. By taking 

 it into shallower water daily, it is soon taught to kneel even on 

 land. Elephaiits are taught to pick up anything from the ground 

 by a rope with a piece of wood attached to it being dangled over 

 their foreheads, near to the ground. The wood strikes against 

 their trunk and forefeet and to avoid the discomfort the elephant 

 soon takes it in its trunk and carries it. It eventually learns to 

 do this without a rope being attached to the object." The pro- 

 cess adopted in Ceylon is similar even to minute details. Tennent 

 in describing it says that those Elephants which are most violent 

 at first are generally the most effectually and early subdued — 

 the sullen and morose are rarely to be trusted in after life. 

 Those with a thin trunk and flabby ears are the most vicious 

 and troublesome to tame and the most worthless when tamed. 

 Lieut. Johnstone states that it is an excellent plan to scratch 

 newly captured elephants with /asces of split bamboo, it makes 

 them docile because they enjoy such treatment very much. Train- 

 ing at the Depot lasts 2 months, and in 6 months' time the ani- 

 mals are fit for Sawari occasionally, but it is a fatal mistake to 

 work them until after the second rainy season. The immense 

 power of the animal renders it a fortunate thing that the best 

 training can be carried out by the judicious giving of rewards 

 such as spice-balls and other tit-bits or fining offenders their 



