Such a thickness may appear too great; but it is to be considered that an elephant ought, by the contract, to carry either four common marquees, each weighing, when dry, 425lb., and, when wet, 597lb.; or six private tents, each weighing, when dry, 275lb., and, when wet, 426lb. Therefore, when I take the medium at twenty-five maunds, it is but striking a fair balance.
An ordinary elephant requires two servants; namely, a _mohout_, or driver, who sits upon his back, and guides, by means of a crooked instrument of iron, called a _haunkus_, aided by words of command, and the application of his toes behind the animal’s ears. The other servant, called a _cooly_, or grass-cutter, performs all the more menial offices, such as taking the elephant out for _charrah_, _i.e._ fodder, of which it can carry as much as will suffice for two, or, if well laden, for three days.
The feet of an elephant require considerable care; they being extremely apt to chafe, and wear away, at the soles, so as to render him completely unserviceable for a time. This generally happens where the soil is dry and harsh, as throughout the upper country, but may be, in a great measure, prevented by _paying_ them with astringent applications, so that the skin may be rendered harder, and the foot, in general, somewhat callous.
When an elephant is chafed on the back, the part is usually rubbed with _ghee_ and turmeric, and the pad cushioned so as to raise the spot under which the excoriation may be: if suffered to continue in a state of irritation, the smallest sore will speedily assume a most formidable appearance, owing to the peculiarly cellular formation of an elephant’s flesh.
The mode of catching elephants for the public service is very simple, requiring more perseverance than skill, yet attended with a heavy expence. In those wildernesses near Chittagong, Tipperah, &c., along the eastern boundary, some hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of villagers are assembled, who form a circle around those herds they may find, and gradually frighten them into a kind of trap, called a _keddah_, of which the entrance is of a crescent form, leading to a large area, properly enclosed by an immense trench, and by large piles well bound together. After a while, the animals are driven, or induced, into a smaller area, from which they are taken into a narrow passage, for the purpose of being secured, and led away to the stands, at which they remain until completely tamed.