The Bombay Times notices a paper by Dr Impey in the 'Transactions of
the Bombay Medical and Physical Society,' containing an account of
the rise of a malignant pustule from contact with the flesh of a dead
elephant. It furnishes a curious new fact in the natural history of the
animal. 'It is so seldom,' says the Bombay Times, 'that tame elephants
amongst us die from natural causes, or under such circumstances as
permit of dissection, that this peculiarity of the carcase has not,
we believe, till now been described, though perfectly well known to
the natives. A baggage elephant accompanying the third troop of horse
artillery having died on the march betwixt Mhow and Poona at the
commencement of the hot season of 1846, the elephant was cut up by some
of the artillerymen and attendants, under the supervision of Dr Impey,
to see, if possible, to determine the cause of its death. The _mochee_
was ordered to work amongst the rest, but could not be induced to touch
the carcase until he had smeared his hands and arms with oil, assigning
as the reason of his aversion the certainty of disease supervening, and
its liability periodically to attack those who had once suffered from
it. This at the time was heartily ridiculed; but the laugh was on the
mochee's side when every man employed in the dissection but himself
was two days afterwards attacked with acute disease. The character of
this was at first purely local: the pain felt like that arising from
the bite of a venomous insect; it was accompanied by slight local
inflammation. This soon extended, and became a sore. These deepened to
the bone, and extended on all sides, manifesting a remarkable degree of
sluggishness and inactivity. Fever accompanied the earlier symptoms,
exhibiting a remittent type, and being most severe towards the evening.
After a fortnight, secondary fever appeared, and three weeks elapsed
before the sores could be healed up. The patient had by this time
become emaciated, sallow, and enervated, so that active dietetic
measures required to be taken for his restoration.'