A TIGER SPRINGING ON AN ELEPHANT. 73
w e r e mounted on light and speedy animals, to overtake the singular fugitives.
A n o t h e r gentleman of the party coming np close, was enalded to choose his pos
i t i on ; when, taking a safe aim, he shot the tiger, whi c h fell to tlie grolind and
r c i j u i r e d no farther operations. The tiger's wciglit liad drawn the pad over a
good deal to one side ; and would, probably, have occasioncd il lo slip altogether
f r om under llie girting ropes, if he had been suifered to retain his posi t ion umch
l o n g e r . It is w o r t h y of remark, tliat, liad the young gentleman, who so strongly
s o l i c i t e d permission lo mount on tlial elepliant, been allowed to do so, he mnst
i n e v i t a b l y have been destroyed; for tlie tiger's claws were fixed on the very
s p o t where lie must have been seated !
T h e scenery of the annexed Plate represents the general face of the country
o n the Cossimbarar island ; which is ver y low and flat. During the rainy season,
i h e rivers, b y which it is surrounded, rise many feel above ihc level of the island
in general, which would he completely inundated, were not the whole circumferenc
e defended by a bank of earth ; wliich often proves insufficient, and, by
b r e a k i n g in various places, does partial damage. Luckily, the rivers do not,
io general, continue long at their greatest height ; so that the breaches can be
r e p a i r e d in a few days. These banks, called pooUntmlics, have existed for ages,
and are now kept in repair by the Honourable Company; who would else
derive but little revenue from one of the most fertile ti-acts in the whol e country.
T i i e casual breaking of the banks, being connected with such a variety of inter
e s t i n g matter, has been made the subject of Number XXXV. ; in which,
and in that which follows it, such circumstances as relate more particularly to
the navigation of the country, fishing, &c. will be found.
T h e reader will have observed in several Plates, that some of the elephants
a r e depicted with very short tails. In describing the perfections and blemishes
of elephants, in a former Number , this deficiency was pointed out as ))eing a
g r e a t depreciation iu respect lo the sale, though not in the least aflccting the
v i g o u r of the animal. It rarely happens thai any part of the tail is lost after
t h e y are caught; though in the somc l ime s during the paroxysms of
r a g e , on (iuding themselves ent rapped, ihey fighl desperately ; and, as frequently
occurs in their wild state, inUvine each othei-s tails with their trunks, snapping
oil" l a rge pieces. It is common lo see a large portion of a ncw-caught herd disiio
iircd in this manner ; this defect is ver y unpleasant lo the eye, and assuredly
d e p r i v e s the elephant of a very pniicipal means of driving away gad flies;
w h i c h , in ihc hot season, arc extremely Iroublesome. Sometimes an elephant
may be seen wilh a stump, perhaps less than a foot in length, a deficiency
a t leasl as niisighlly as an cleganl blood horse would appear, were his tail
d o c k e d close to the croup I These stumps appear very awkward when, either
in ihe moment of fear, or iu pastime, the elephanls erect them.
T h e Hindoos, especially after bathing, paint their faces w i l h ochres and sandalwood
ground very Hue into a pulp. This has at first a very curious appcarance,
and reminds the European of the practices described iu Cook's Voyages, as
b e i n g common among the islander.'^ in the Soiilh Seas ; il is, in india, considcnrd
not only as necessary lo ihe completion of jnany religioii.s or ciislomary ceremonies,
but, in tlie opinion of themselves, adds greatly lo the cflect of I hei r »elfa
d m i r e d countenances. The custom is principally confined to the male sex,
t h o u g h ihe women occasionally wear a round s|)ot either of sandal, which is of
a light dun colour, or of s'mgiiiff, that is, a pre[)araliaii of vermilion, between
t h e eye brows, and a stripe of the same, running u[) the front of the head, in
the furrow made according to the general j)raclice of dividing all the- fronUil
h a i r equally to ihe right and left, where it is rendereil sinoolii, and ghi/ed by a
thick mucilagc, made by steeping linseed for a while in water. When dry, the
h a i r is all firmly matted together, and will retaiti its form for many days. The
inohouts ornament the cheeks and foreheads, as likewise ihc chesUand shoulders,
of their elephanls, in a similar manner with ochres and vermilion, generally in
fanciful patterns or tlourishes ; and they regularly anoint the forehead of those
i n t e n d e d foi- r iding especially, wilh ghee, iu order to make the liair grow thick
aud bushy, which is considered a great beauty. The natives have a strong
p r e d i l e c t i o n for ant imony, which, when didy levigated, is, by means of a winmade
of pewter, passed within the membranous cups that bound the lower parts
o f the eye; giving a black hue lo the insertion of ihc lower eye lashes. Tliis is
supposed to coulribute a great brillancy and elVect to their eyes, which arc,
w i t h few exceptions, very large and beautifid. Some inohouts even go so far
a s to practise the same wilh their ele[>hanls; or, at least, lo smear the borders
of their eyes exteriorly wilh lamp-black. These whimsical danbages have not
a disagreeable eflcct on the dark complexions of the natives, which not being
enlivened with any diversifying tint by nature, require some device to set olTlhe
a d m i r a b l e features they in general possess ; and on the sabl e skin of the elephant,
such a relief, if used iu moderation aud with tasle, is really far from being
olFensive. I should remark that llie loochas, or bucks, not only smear their
faces, but their breasts and arms.
T l i e men of Bengal rarely wear ornaments in their ears; at least, if they do,
t h e y arc very smal l : but the women invariably wear as many ornaments as they
can obtain; nol only as pendants at the lower tips, but bordering the ears,
which are perforated for the purpose all round at their edges, often displaying
q u i t e a burthen of Irinkets; in general they are of gold. The mohonts, in like
manner, insert a mul t i tude of small rings, for the most part of iron ; bra.ss and
copper would corrode, while pewter wouhl give way ; these are, however, perp
e t u a l l y tearing out, and render slill more uncertain the very precarious comp
u t a t i o n which many mohoiUs allect, in regard to the age of their respective
elephants, by adding a ring to each ear, at the anniversary of its being taken ;
commencing' wilh any number, upon which they may arbitrarily fix for the
age of the animal in the first insUince. Some, who pretend to be great connoisseurs
in that respect, assert that the elephant gains a joint, somewhere
between the neck and the lip of the tail, annually ; others pretend to count the
rings on the teeth, as we do on the horns of cat t l e ; some again refer to a change
•of teeth, while many look to the smoothness of the borders of the ears for the