INTELLIGENCE OF THE ELEPHANT. 735 
“One evening, while riding in the vicinity of Kandy, towards the scene of the massacre 
of Major Davie’s party in 1803, my horse evinced some excitement at a noise which 
gupesached us in the thick jungle, and which consisted of a repetition of the ejaculation, 
Urmph ! urmph! in a hoarse and dissatisfied tone. A turn in the forest Sa the 
mystery, by bringing me face to face with a tame Elephant, unaccompanied by any 
attendant. He was labouring painfully to carry a heavy beam of timber, which he 
balanced across his tusks, but the pathway being narrow, he was forced to bend his head 
to one side to permit it to pass endways ; and the exertion and inconvenience combined, 
led him to utter the dissatisfied sounds which disturbed the composure of my horse. 
On seeing us halt, the Elephant raised his head, reconnoitred us for a moment, then 
flung down the timber, and forced himself backwards among the brushwood, so as to leave 
a passage, of which he expected us to avail ourselves. My horse still hesitated: the 
Elephant observed, and impatiently thrust himself still deeper into the jungle, repeating 
his ery of wmph/ Dut in a voice evidently meant to encourage us to come on, Still the 
horse trembled ; and, anxious to observe the instinct of the two sagacious creatures, ] 
forbore any interference : again the Elephant wedged himself farther in amongst the trees, 
and waited impatiently for us to pass him, and after the horse had done so, tremblingly 
and timidly, I saw the wise creature stoop and take up his heavy burthen, turn and balance 
it on his tusks, and resume his route, hoarsely snorting, as before, his discontented 
remonstrance.” 
Another Elephant of Ceylon performed a feat of equal sagacity. 
By profession he was a builder, and was employed in laying stones under the super- 
vision of an overseer. Whenever he completed one course, he signalled to the overseer, 
who came and inspected his work, and after ascertaining that the task was properly 
performed, gave the signal to lay another course. On one occasion, the Elephant placed 
himself against a portion of the wall, and refused to move from the spot, when the overseer 
came to the part of the wall which his body concealed. The overseer, however, insisted 
on the animal's moving aside, and the Elephant, seeing that his ruse had _ failed, 
immediately set hard to work at pulling down the wall which he had just built, and 
which was defective in the, spot which he had been attempting to conceal from the 
inspector's eye. 
Although so valuable an anixnal for certain kinds of work, the Elephant is hardly so 
effective an assistant as is generally supposed. “The working Elephant,” says Sir E. 
Tennent, “is always a delicate animal, and requires watchfulness and care ; as a beast of 
burden he is unsatisfactory ; for although in point of mere strength there is hardly any 
weight which could be conveniently placed on him that he could not carry, it is difficult 
to pack it without causing abrasions that afterwards ulcerate. His skin is easily chafed 
by harness, especially in wet weather. Either during long droughts, or too much moisture, 
his feet are liable to sores, which render him non- effective for months. Many attempts 
have been made to provide him with some protection for the sole of the foot, but from his 
extreme weight and mode of planting the foot, they have all been unsuccessful. His eyes 
are also liable to frequent inflammation. In Ceylon, the murrain among cattle is of 
frequent occurrence, and carries off great numbers of animals, wild as well as tame. In 
such visitations the Elephants suffer | severely, not only those at liberty in the forest, but 
those which are carefully tended in the Government stables. 
On being first subjected to work, the Elephant is liable to severe and often fatal 
swellings of the jaws and abdomen. On the whole, there may be a question as to the 
prudenc e or economy of maintaining a stud of Elephants for the purposes to which they 
are assigned in Ceylon. In the rude and unopened parts of the country—where rivers 
are to be forded, and forests are only traversed by jungle paths—their labour is of value 
in certain contingencies, in the carrying of stores and in the earlier operations for the 
construction of fords and bridges of timber. But in more highly civilized districts, and 
wherever macadamized roads admit of the employment of horses and oxen for draught, 
I apprehend that the services of Elephants might, with advantage, be probably 
reduced, if not altogether dispensed with.” The able writer then proceeds to observe that 
if the peculiar constitution, irritability, and expensive maintenance of the Elephant be 
