26o 
A TREATISE ON ELEPHANTS. 
Curative, — As in exhaustion, crushed ice if procurable should be 
applied to the head and spine ; if not, continuous cold water appli- 
cations. The state of the temperature of the body ought to be noted 
at intervals. The patient may recover, but restoration to health 
is very slow, and not infrequently paralysis in some form may 
develop. Tonics are useful during convalescence. 
Death may result in a few hours from failure of the action of the 
heart, suffocation or from exhaustion following on the intense heat 
and consequent failure of the vital powers of the body. 
LiGHTNING-STROKE. 
On one or two occasions elephants have been struck by lightning 
and killed. The effects of lightning naturally vary with the inten- 
sity of the flash : strong shocks result in immediate death by paralysis 
of the nervous system, while weaker ones produce unconsciousness 
and temporary paralysis. In many cases large or small areas of skin 
are burned. 
