390 MAMMALIA OF INDIA. 
S1zE.—The maximum height appears to be about 11 feet, in fact the 
only authentic measurement we have at present is 10 feet 7 inches. 
“* The huge elephant, wisest of brutes,” 
has had a good deal of the romance about it taken away by modern 
observers. The staid appearance of the animal, with the intellectual 
aspect contributed by the enormous cranial development, combined 
with its undoubted docility and aptitude for comprehending signs, have 
led to exaggerated ideas of its intelligence, which probably does not 
exceed that of the horse, and is far inferior to that of the dog. But 
from time immemorial it has been surrounded by a halo of romance 
and exaggeration. Mr. Sanderson says, however, that the natives of 
India never speak of it as an intelligent animal, ‘‘and it does not figure 
in their ancient literature for its wisdom, as do the fox, the crow, and 
the monkey ;” but he overlooks the fact that the Hindu god of wisdom, 
Gunesh, is always depicted with the body of a man, but the head of an 
elephant. However this is apparently an oversight, for both in his 
book and lecture he alludes to Gunesh. The rest of his remarks are so 
good, and show so much practical knowledge, that I shall take the 
liberty of quoting zz extenso from a lecture delivered by him at Simla 
last year, a printed copy of which he kindly sent me, and also from his 
interesting book, ‘Thirteen Years amongst the Wild Beasts.’ 
He says: ‘One of the strongest features in the domesticated 
elephant’s character is its obedience. It may also be readily taught, as 
it has a large share of the ordinary cultivable intelligence common in a 
greater or less degree to all animals. But its reasoning faculties are 
undoubtedly far below those of the dog, and possibly of other animals ; 
and in matters beyond the range of its daily experience it evinces no 
special discernment. Whilst quick at comprehending anything sought 
to be taught to it, the elephant is decidedly wanting in originality.” 
I think one as often sees instanees of decided stupidity on the part of 
elephants as of sagacity, but I think the amount of intelligence varies in 
individuals. I have known cases where elephants have tried to get 
their mahouts off their backs—two cases in my own district—in the one 
the elephant tried shaking and then lying down, both of which proved 
ineffectual; in the other it tried tearing off the rafters of a hut and 
throwing them over its back, and finally rubbing against low branches of 
trees, which proved successful.. The second elephant, I think, showed 
the greatest amount of original thought; but there is no doubt the 
sagacity of the animal has been greatly overrated. I quote again from 
Mr. Sanderson, whose remarks are greatly to the point :— 
““What an improbable story is that of the elephant and the tailor, 
wherein the animal, on being pricked with a needle instead of being fed 
with sweetmeats as usual, is represented as having deliberately gone to 
