ABOUT ELEPHANTS. 489 



elephant," says Darwin, " is very faithful to his driver or keeper, and 

 probably considers hirn as the leader of the herd. Dr. Hooker informs 

 me that an elephant which he was riding in India became so deeply 

 bogged that he remained stuck fast until the next day, when he was 

 extricated by men with ropes. Under such circumstances elephants 

 will seize with their trunks any object, dead or alive, to place under 

 their knees to prevent their sinking deeper in the mud; and the driver 

 was dreadfully afraid lest the animal should have seized Dr. Hooker 

 and crushed him to death. But the driver himself, as Dr. Hooker was 

 assured, ran no risk. This forbearance, under an emergency so dread- 

 ful for a heavy animal, is a wonderful proof of noble fidelity." Swain- 

 son gives a description of the sagacity of an elephant under such cir- 

 cumstances which is worth quoting in the present instance : " The 

 cylindrical form of an elephant's leg which is nearly of equal thick- 

 ness causes the animal to sink very deep in heavy ground, especially 

 in the muddy banks of small rivers. When thus situated, the animal 

 will endeavor to lie on his side, so as to avoid sinking deeper, and, 

 for this purpose, will avail himself of every means to obtain relief. 

 The usual mode of extricating him is much the same as when he is 

 pitted ; that is, by supplying hioi liberally with straw, boughs, grass, 

 etc.; these materials being thrown to the distressed animal, he forces 

 them down with his trunk, till they are lodged under his fore-feet in 

 sufficient quantity to resist his pressure. Having thus formed a suffi- 

 cient basis for exertion, the sagacious animal next proceeds to thrust 

 other bundles under his belly, and as far back under his flanks as he 

 can reach ; when such a basis is formed as may be, in his mind, proper 

 to proceed upon, he throws his whole weight forward, and gets his hind- 

 feet gradually upon the straw, etc. Being once confirmed on a solid 

 footing, he will next place the succeeding bundles before him, pressing 

 them well with his trunk, so as to form a causeway by which to reach 

 the firm ground. . . . He will not bear any weight, definitely, until, by 

 trial both with his trunk and the next foot that is to be planted, he 

 has completely satisfied himself of the firmness of the ground he is to 

 tread upon. . . . The anxiety of the animal when bemired forms a 

 strong contrast with the pleasure he so strongly evinces on arriving at 

 terra firma" Such an account becomes extremely interesting, as con- 

 vincing us that much, if not all, of the sagacity which is called forth by 

 such circumstances must be inherent and original, as opposed to that 

 gained by experience. It can not be supposed that the accident de- 

 scribed can form such a frequent experience of elephant-existence in 

 a wild state as to constitute a certain basis for acquired knowledge of 

 what to do in the exigency. On the contrary, it seems more reason- 

 able to suppose that the inherent and intuitive sagacity of the animal 

 is simply called forth by the threatened danger, and that such an 

 exigency brings into play mental acts analogous to those whereby, 

 through mechanical and similar contrivances to those employed by the 



