MAMMALIA— ELEPHANT. 291 



leg, with his mouth untying it from the buckle's tongue, and after this buckle 

 had a small string twisted around it, with divers knots, he untied them all, 

 without breaking any thing. One night, that he had thus disentangled 

 himself from his leather strings, he broke open so dexterously the door of 

 his lodge, that his governor was not waked by the noise. He went thence 

 into divers yards of the menagerie, breaking open doors that were shut, and 

 pulling down the stone work, when the passage was too narrow for him 

 and thus he went into the lodges of other animals, terrifying them to such a 

 degree, that they ran away to hide themselves in the most remote part of 

 the park. In fine, to omit nothing of what may contribute to make all the 

 natural faculties of this animal perfectly known, as well as his acquired 

 knowledge, we shall add some facts, extracted from the most credible authors. 



"Of five elephants," says Tavernier, "which hunters had taken, three 

 escaped, although their bodies and their legs were fastened with chains and 

 ropes. These men told us a very surprising circumstance, if we can believe 

 it, which is, that when once these elephants have been caught, and eluded 

 the snares of their adversaries, if they are compelled to go into the woods, 

 they are mistrustful, and break with their trunk a large branch, with which 

 they sound the ground before they put their foot upon it, to discover if there 

 are any holes on their passage, not to be caught a second time; which made 

 the hunters, who related this singularity, despair of catching again the three 

 elephants who had escaped. We saw the other two which they had caught ; 

 each of them was betwixt two tame elephants; and around the wild 

 elephants were six men, holding spears. They spoke to these animals 

 in presenting them something to eat, and telling them, in their language, 

 Take this and eat it. They had small bundles of hay, bits of black sugar, or 

 rice boiled in water, with pepper. When the wild elephant refused to do 

 what he was ordered, the men commanded the tame elephants to beat him, 

 which they did immediately; one striking his forehead with his ; and when 

 he seemed to aim at revenge against his aggressor, another struck him ; so 

 that the poor wild elephant perceived he had nothing to do but to obey." 



" I have observed several times," says Edward Terry, " that the elephant 

 does many things which are rather an indication of human reasoning, than 

 a simple, natural instinct. He does whatever his master commands him. 

 If he orders him to frighten any person, he advances towards him with the 

 same fury as if he would tear him to pieces; and when he comes near him, 

 he stops short, without doing him any harm. If the master wishes to 

 affront another, he speaks to the elephant, who takes with his trunk dirty 

 water, and throws it at his face. The Mogul has elephants for the execu- 

 tion of criminals condemned to death. If their leader bids them to dispatch 

 these wretches soon, they tear them to pieces in a moment with their feet ; 

 on the contrary, if he commands them to make these criminals languish, 

 they break their bones one after another, and make them surfe- torments as 

 cruel as those of the whe^l " 



