34 
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS. 
chilliness, for if left to themselves they will not hesitate to enter 
water shortly after daybreak. Sunset is the best hour for the 
evening bath. While bathing the attendants should rub the body 
over with a soft stone or the husk of a cocoanut ; the animal will 
squirt water over himself constantly. The natural orifices and feet 
must be kept clean. When a halt has to be made at a place where 
no body of water exists, the attendants must draw water from wells 
and pour it over the animals. Bathing is never to be undertaken 
when animals are in a heated condition. If a river is encountered 
on the march, they should be halted and not permitted to enter till 
their bodies have cooled. When dry after bathing, it is customary 
for the attendants to smear oil all over the upper portion of the head, 
the idea being that it has a very cooling effect and soothes the 
irritation with which the scurfy state of the head is so commonly 
attended. If this part was kept thoroughly clean and protected 
from the sun by a pad, this remedial anointing might perhaps be 
dispensed with. It must be remembered that the application of oil 
deepens the colour of the skin to a perfect black, thus vastly 
increasing the capability of the surface for absorption of heat. If 
a sun pad is necessary under ordinary conditions, it would appear 
to be doubly so after oiling. 
Attendants and their Duties. 
Every domesticated elephant necessarily has its own particular 
attendant, oo-si (§§8§, the man who rides in front) or mahout. 
In the case of Government animals and those of some private 
owners, the oo-si is allowed an assistant, known as the pat-si 
(o§g, the man who rides behind). In India he is called cowardie. 
The oo-si either is directly under the control of his employer, 
or, where there are a number of animals, indirectly through an 
overseer, sin-6k (oo63:^5), singaungy sometimes called kyun-Ok or 
jemadar. The duties of an oo-si are the continual immediate care 
of his elephant, both on and off work. In the former case, he rides 
on the neck of the elephant, guides it on the march or directs it 
in dragging, pushing of timber, etc., and it is at all times his 
duty to be on the alert for means of economizing the strength 
of the animal, saving it unnecessary exertion and exposure. Off 
work it should be his first care to see that the animal receives its 
drinking water, bath, and a sufficiency of good clean fodder ; also 
to see that it is kept in the shade, or in a shed, his personal con- 
venience being secondary. He must wash and examine every part 
of the body dailyj notice any departure from the normal state as 
