The Wild Elephant and the Method of Capturing and Taming it in Ceylon
CHAPTER I.
STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONS.
PAGE
Vast numbers in Ceylon 4
Derivation of the word “elephant,” _note_ _ib._
Antiquity of the trade in elephants 5
Numbers now diminishing. _ib._
Mischief done by them to crops _ib._
Ivory scarce in Ceylon 6
Conjectures as to the absence of tusks 7
Elephant a harmless animal 9
Alleged antipathies to other animals 11
Fights with each other 15
The foot its chief weapon 16
Use of the tusks in a wild state doubtful 17
Anecdote of sagacity in an elephant at Kandy 19
Difference between African and Indian species 20
Native ideas of perfection in an elephant 21
Blotches on the skin 22
White elephants not unknown in Ceylon 23