A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS. 
kwechee ((^(^s), is a light frame- work, and it appears to 
be a matter of opinion, not unmixed with a good deal 
of feeling, with the workers of elephants as to which 
kind of saddle is the more comfortable for the animal. 
Girths and sh'ng.-^The ohn-dones being in place are girthed 
on with a belly-band of woven shaw about 2 ins. broad 
and 15 ft. in length; the sling or gok-see (c^cSo^g) 
is next adjusted. This too is made of i^/z^w-rope 
about 2-| ins. in circumference, and is of such a length 
that when doubled and laid over the back the two loops 
hang down the shoulders to a height rather above 
the level of the chest. Through these loops the ends 
of the breast-straps are passed ; and as the use of the 
gok-see is mainly to keep the strap in position on the 
breast without any undue downward strain on the 
spine, it requires more or less adjustment for each 
elephant. Its hang " should be adjusted so as to 
bring the chains and breast strap, when taut, in one 
straight line off the muscles of the chest, quite clear 
of the throat and not too low to cramp the free action 
of the legs. 
The breast-straps which after the chain is the most important 
part of the harness, is made of finely shredded shaw 
twisted up in two strands each about the diameter of an 
ordinary walking-stick, and woven on a rough loom. 
The strap is about 5 ins, in breadth, and finished off 
at each end in a loop, into which iron eyelets are fitted. 
The length varies for different elephants ; it should be 
just sufficiently long to go round the chest and pass 
through the loops of the gok-see clear of the shoulders, 
so that the chain when hooked on and in use does 
not interfere with the free action of the shoulders. The 
breast-strap before use is softened with fat ; and as the 
elephant's breast is well greased before work the strap 
soon absorbs enough fat to make it soft and pliable. 
This strap however, even with care, only lasts from 
three weeks to a month. The mahouts make the breast- 
straps for their animals, and usually keep a fair stock. 
Chains. — For tuskers |-in. and for females .^-in. rubble chain 
is generally used. The chains are fastened to the breast- 
straps by means of large hooks, or by a swivel-link, 
locked across the loop of the breast-strap. In the 
former case care is to be taken that the chain is not 
twisted before hooking up, otherwise the rotary motion 
