ORIENTAL SPORTS. 
145 
CHAPTER XIII. 
All Mohammedan sovereigns in India, whether 
dependant or supreme, from the time of Akbar to the 
present, have evinced a decided partiality for those 
exhibitions in which that celebrated monarch took 
such delight ; and the elephant fights of Lucknow 
have been notorious ever since the Mohammedan 
princes first established their courts in that city. 
Whenever the present king of Oude is visited by any 
European of note, he always has an elephant fight by 
way of entertaining his guests. 
The engraving represents one of these entertain- 
ments in a large area railed in for this purpose, where 
likewise wrestling and other gymnastic feats are dis- 
played before the monarch. The manner of conduct- 
ing these sports is as follows : — A female elephant is 
introduced and led to the centre of the enclosure, 
where she stands upon a gentle elevation, looking 
around her with an evident consciousness of what is 
about to take place. The two male combatants are 
now driven in at different entrances. 
The bodies of these pampered animals are co- 
vered with a strong rope netting, to which the 
mahoots cling during the shock of contention; and 
this is frequently so violent as to dislodge them in 
spite of their utmost efforts to prevent such an issue, 
o 
