Ill 
THE ELEPHANT 
79 
generally know the position of the enemy by its keen 
sense of smell. If the tiger should suddenly charge 
from some dense covert with the usual short but 
loud roars, the elephant ought to remain absolutely 
still to receive the onset, and to permit a steady aim 
from the person in the howdah. This is a very rare 
qualification, but most necessary in a good shikar 
elephant. Some tuskers will attack the tiger, which 
is nearly as bad a fault as running in the opposite 
direction ; but the generality, even if tolerably steady, 
will swing suddenly upon one side, and thus interrupt 
the steadiness of aim. 
The elephant should never exercise its own will, 
but ought to wait in all cases for the instructions 
of the mahout, and then obey immediately. 
Such an animal, combining the proportions and 
the qualities I have described, might be worth in 
India about ^1500 to any Indian Rajah, but there 
may be some great native sportsmen who would 
give double that amount for such an example of per¬ 
fection,—which would combine the beauty required 
for a state elephant, with the high character of a 
shikar animal. 
Native princes and rajahs take a great pride in 
the trappings of their state elephants, which is 
exhibited whenever any pageant demands an extra¬ 
ordinary display. I have seen cloths of silk so 
closely embroidered with heavy gold as to be of 
enormous value, and so great a weight that two men 
could barely lift them. Such cloths may have been 
handed down from several generations, as they are 
