CHAPTER XIV. 
DISEASES OF THE EYE. 
The Eye. 
It is a matter of common remark amongst those who have 
much to do with elephants that a large percentage of them have 
blemished eyes. Major Hawkes notes, of a batch of 27 elephants 
examined, that one was totally blind, two nearly so, two blind in 
one eye, one had cataract in both eyes, and three had partial 
opacity of the cornea in both eyes. I think if we give the subject a 
little consideration the cause of this high percentage will be readily 
apparent. 
The eye of the elephant is as delicate and sensitive as our own, 
and the preservation of sight is a blessing to the animal and an 
advantage to the owner ; yet mahouts are allowed (through ignorance 
of owners or those in charge) to inflict intense suffering on these 
creatures by blowing powdered glass, powders containing ingre- 
dients such as lunar caustic, blue-stone, camphor, etc., into their 
eyes to remove so-called films, or to treat the eyes with mixtures 
(applied unsparingly) containing other irritating ingredients in 
uncertain quantities, such as chillies, ginger, quicklime, preparations 
of mercury. When such delicate organs are subjected to treatment 
such as described, it is not surprising that we find so many elephants 
whose vision is permanently impaired or totally lost. 
It should be made clear to elephant attendants that any treat- 
ment of the eyes carried out by them will result in their immediate 
dismissal. Captain Forsyth, a careful observer and sympathetic 
master, remarks : The eyes of the elephant are extremely delicate 
and appear to possess in an unusual degree a sympathetic con- 
nection with the digestive organs. Nearly every indisposition of 
the animal is accompanied by a clouding or suffusion of the eyes. 
Few elephants that have been long caught, especially if in the hands 
of natives, have perfect eyes." Note the remark especially if in 
the hands of natives. Mahouts are everlastingly tinkering with 
their elephants ; if not treating their eyes, they are treating them 
for some other supposed ailment. This amateur doctoring by them 
is a curse in elephant establishments. If more attention was given 
to seeing that these men take their animals to good grazing grounds, 
