NO. 49.— 1898.] THE CEYLON ELEPHANT. 



193 



rixdollars of 48 Dutch stuivers each, or for more of course if 

 they are good big beasts without any faults or natural defects. 

 But on the other hand, the small toothless elephants are 

 valued at 100 to 200 or 300 rixdollars each, which price 

 gradually increases to 3,000 rixdollars, according to the 

 quality of the beast as stated before. But at all events the 

 bull-elephants are more prized than the cows, as the Hon. 

 Company yearly makes considerable profit by the sale of 

 elephants in Ceylon, and the more so, as the expenses of 

 catching them are not heavy, seeing that the huntsmen and 

 others employed in the hunt have to be satisfied only with 

 the food they get, without any claim for the least recompense 

 for their services, seeing that they have been conquered by 

 the sword and are enslaved to the lord of the land, as has 

 been before stated when the expenses of the hunt were 

 referred to. 



When any elephants have been selected and finally bought 

 by the merchants they are branded with hot irons on the 

 rump with a mark, in order that they may not be fraudu- 

 lently sold again, and to prevent disputes among the 

 merchants, for each knows the marks with which his 

 elephants have been branded. Some merchants are, how- 

 ever, in the habit of hanging boards with marks thereon 

 on the necks of the elephants bought by them, and thus 

 avoid the branding. But as such boards are easily removed 

 and difficulties arise therefrom, this method is seldom 

 followed, and branding as aforesaid is adopted for greater 

 security. 



When the merchants have thus bought the aforesaid 

 elephants from the Hon. Company, and have no occasion 

 to send the same at once to the Coromandel Coast, either 

 for lack of boats or otherwise, the beasts remain at their 

 own risk in the stalls till they are removed. In such cases 

 the Hon. Company suffers no loss, but in some cases a helping 

 hand is in justice given to these merchants. 



And as I have spoken of cobidos in various places, so it is 

 necessary, in order to a better understanding, to say that a 



