THE AUTOPSY OF AN ELEPHANT. 217 



ground, until he had quite a supply upon which to 

 draw when he chose to hurl the ammunition back. 

 It seemed to give the ponderous pachyderm great de- 

 light as the hoys scattered with a shout when a stone 

 fell in their midst. 



At length Mr. Robinson placed Conqueror in 

 company with seven or eight other elephants, and 

 took him about the country as a feature of his travel- 

 ing menagerie ; but the playful nature of the beast so 

 often gave way to fits of anger that he proved an un- 

 welcome part of the "show." He took the conceit 

 that he would not obey any one except his old master, 

 and came near killing two or three men who under- 

 took to exercise authority over him ; and he often 

 provoked quarrels with the other elephants, and at- 

 tempted to stampede the camels, dromedaries, and 

 other animals of any significance in his estimation. 

 He seemed to covet a contest with the larger felines, 

 especially the tigers, against whom he appeared to en- 

 tertain an instinctive hate. These caprices and freaks 

 of temper caused him to be hampered with chains 

 that extended around his body, over his tusks, and to 

 bracelets locked upon his wrists. These incumbrances 

 made him so irritable while traveling on a fenced 

 platform car, on the railroad, that he made a desperate 

 attempt to break loose while the train was in motion. 

 In this struggle one fore-foot was so much bruised 

 that the animal had to be taken to a quiet retreat for 

 recuperation. Three months afterward, the foot had 

 so far recovered that Conqueror went into winter 

 quarters with his old companions, and seemed pleased 

 to return to the company of his fellow kind. How- 

 ever, he could not live in peace with any body he 

 must play or quarrel, so exuberant were his spirits. 



