CAMELS HARNESSED TO CARRIAGE.
Besides these elaborate conveyances there are several kinds of palanquins for use on rough roads and in mountainous districts. Palkis are litters attached to a single long pole which is carried on the shoulders of two or more men. Dhoolies are square boxes, rather like sedan chairs, in which native ladies sometimes travel, and the ruth is a palanquin on wheels.
In India camels are ridden by both men and women. The latter often sit in kujawas, which are small square panniers made of wood and strong netting, and are hung on either side of the animal's back.
Horses, bullocks, and donkeys are also ridden, but the most imposing steed in India is the elephant, and very magnificent these great animals look when they are carrying native rajahs or taking part in some religious procession. On these occasions the howdah, which is like a palanquin perched on the elephant's back, is painted or covered with gold and silver, while the animal itself is often gaily coloured and has his tusks decorated with jewels and flowers.
Elephants, however, are not always decked in this fantastic fashion, and often the howdah is a very simple affair rather like a huge basket in appearance. Sometimes the mahout, as the keeper of the elephant is called, sits on the animal's broad neck or rides on a rough wooden saddle.
One of the most curious conveyances to be seen in India is a travelling theatre, which consists of a large, railed platform fastened across the backs of two elephants which walk side by side. This strange moving stage figures in wedding processions and other festivals, and during its passage through the streets of a town dancing girls give performances on the platform, which is brightly illuminated.
Elephants are strange animals and need to be very carefully trained and kindly treated. There is a story that once in Ceylon a newly-caught elephant, when required to draw a wagon, felt this to be such an indignity that he lay down between the shafts and died!
Perhaps his relations in India are not quite so proud and sensitive, for in that country we find them doing a great deal of hard work. They move large logs of wood, carry heavy burdens, and also drag cannon. At times, even, they may be seen taking the place of steam-engines and drawing railway trucks along the line. In fact, there is nothing in the way of hard and heavy work that the elephant cannot do.