ELEPHANTS 69 



There were several babies in the lot, and they soon 

 became playful and affectionate. Baby elephants 

 are just three feet high at birth and weigh about 

 two hundred pounds. They grow an inch each 

 month. We made pets of them and amused our- 

 selves with weaning them. We did this by taking a 

 pail of warm milk and dipping the babies' trunks 

 into it, then doubling the trunks up and putting 

 them into their owners' mouths, and finally squirt- 

 ing milk in with a squirt gun. The babies soon 

 learned to imitate this procedure. They were mis- 

 chievous little animals, full of fun and inquisitive- 

 ness. Hour after hour, I played with them and 

 laughed until I ached. 



The Sultan arrived with his retinue, and we gave 

 him a ceremonial greeting. Deputations from all 

 the villages were present, and Omar requisitioned 

 food for a great feast. The Sultan had little to 

 say about the elephants until I took him up on the 

 platform where he could count them for himself. 

 For a minute he looked at them, wide-eyed; then 

 he repeated, "Sir, you spoke the truth." 



"I always speak the truth," I replied, and I could 

 see by his expression that he believed me. He was 

 convinced that I was honest. I knew that I had his 

 protection for any expeditions I might undertake 

 in Trengganu. His friendship had been difficult 

 to win, but it was worth the trouble quite aside 

 from the value of the elephants. Trengganu was 

 virgin country, filled with animals that my custo- 



