By and by to the elephant stables, and I took a ride; but it was by request—I did not ask for it, and didn't want it; but I took it, because otherwise they would have thought I was afraid, which I was. The elephant kneels down, by command—one end of him at a time—and you climb the ladder and get into the howdah, and then he gets up, one end at a time, just as a ship gets up over a wave; and after that, as he strides monstrously about, his motion is much like a ship's motion. The mahout bores into the back of his head with a great iron prod and you wonder at his temerity and at the elephant's patience, and you think that perhaps the patience will not last; but it does, and nothing happens. The mahout talks to the elephant in a low voice all the time, and the elephant seems to understand it all and to be pleased with it; and he obeys every order in the most contented and docile way. Among these twenty-five elephants were two which were larger than any I had ever seen before, and if I had thought I could learn to not be afraid, I would have taken one of them while the police were not looking.

In the howdah-house there were many howdahs that were made of silver, one of gold, and one of old ivory, and equipped with cushions and canopies of rich and costly stuffs. The wardrobe of the elephants was there, too; vast velvet covers stiff and heavy with gold embroidery; and bells of silver and gold; and ropes of these metals for fastening the things on—harness, so to speak; and monster hoops of massive gold for the elephant to wear on his ankles when he is out in procession on business of state.
(FE)

Clara recalled this as in Colombo, but her later recollections of time and place were often faulty, and the Clemens party had less than 24 hours in Colombo with Sam mostly in bed:

Father seated on an elephant defies description. There was something funny about the sight to me; and Father, suspecting what I was giggling about, said, “What are you laughing at, you sassmill?” “If you could see yourself, Father, you would laugh, too. The elephant looks so unreal with all his
important trappings and you have such a troubled air, as if you realized your hat did not match the blue-and-red harness.”
Father never minded being laughed at unless something else had gone wrong with him. So he replied he did not believe the picture could be any stranger than his feelings, the driver of the beast seemed so far off. What could he do if the elephant decided to run? Nobody could answer this question, so he decided to forget it and enjoy the picturesque little streets and unfamiliar architecture. [MFMT 154]
(Fears)