192 
IVILB BEASTS AND THEIR WA VS 
CHAP. 
you can absolutely depend upon when following the 
hounds in England ; an animal well up to a couple of 
stones more than your own weight, who never bores 
upon your hand, but keeps straight, and never makes 
a mistake; even that only faintly approaches the 
pleasure of a good day upon such an elephant as I 
have described. 
Mahouts will always lie concerning the reputation 
of the animal in their charge, and I had been 
assured that the great male belonging to the Ranee 
of Bijni was the ideal character I coveted; but I 
discovered that his temper was so well known that 
the Rajah positively declined to expose his line of 
elephants to an attack, which he assured me would 
take place if the animal became excited ; in which 
event some valuable elephant would suffer, as the 
long tusks of the Bijni elephant had not been 
blunted, or shortened by the saw. This splendid, 
animal was accordingly condemned to the igno¬ 
minious duty of conveying food to the camp, for the 
other elephants upon their return from their daily 
work. The neighbourhood of the Brahmaputra is 
rich in plantain groves, and for a trifling considera¬ 
tion the natives allow those trees which have 
already produced their crop to be cut down. A full- 
length stem will weigh about 80 lbs., therefore 
an elephant is quickly loaded, as the animal for 
the short distance to camp will carry 18 cwts. or 
more. The operation of loading a pad elephant 
with either boughs or plantain stems is very curious. 
Two men are necessary; one upon the ground 
