II 
THE ELEPHANT 
43 
supported by holding a cord attached to the animal’s 
neck. It is very interesting to watch the passage 
of a large river by a herd of these creatures, who to 
a stranger’s eye would appear to be in danger of 
drowning, although in reality they are merely gam¬ 
boling in the element which is their delight. I 
have seen them cross the Brahmaputra when the 
channel was about a mile in width. Forty elephants 
scrambled down the precipitous bank of alluvial 
deposit and river sand : this, although about thirty- 
five feet high, crumbled at once beneath the fore-foot 
of the leading elephant, and many tons detached 
from the surface quickly formed a steep incline. 
Squatting upon its hind-quarters, and tucking its 
hinder knees beneath its belly, while it supported its 
head upon its trunk and outstretched fore legs, it 
slid and scrambled to the bottom, accompanied by 
an avalanche of earth and dust, thus forming a good 
track for the following herd. 
It is surprising to see in how few minutes a large 
herd of elephants descending a steep place will form 
a road. I have frequently seen them break down 
an alluvial cliff in the manner described, where at 
first sight I should have thought it impossible for 
an elephant to descend. Once within the river the 
fun began in earnest. After a march in the hot sun, 
it was delightful to bathe in the deep stream of the 
Brahmaputra, and the mighty forms splashed and 
disported themselves, sometimes totally submerged, 
with the drivers standing ankle-deep upon their 
hidden backs, which gave them the appearance of 
