132 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS 



of the wilderness, showing in this work little or no disposition 

 to rejoin the wild herds. In the case of no other animal do 

 we find anything like such an immediate adhesion to the ways 

 of civilization. We have to account for this eminent peculi- 

 arity of the elephant on the supposition, which appears to be 

 thoroughly justified, that the creature has, even in its wild 

 state, a type of intelligence and instincts more nearly like 

 those of men than is the case with any other wild mammal, an 

 affinity with human quality which is, perhaps, only approached 

 by certain species of birds. It appears from the observations 

 of naturalists that the family or tribe of wild elephants is a 

 distinct and highly sympathetic community. The grade and 

 value of the friendly feeling which prevails among them may 

 be judged by the fact that, when one of the males becomes 

 lost or is driven away from its associates, it does not seem to 

 be able to join any other tribe, but becomes a " rogue/' or 

 solitary individual, and in this state develops a morose and 

 furious temper. 



There are many well-attested stories which serve to show 

 that wild elephants have a kind of intelligence which indicates 

 a certain constructive capacity. Of these, perhaps the best 

 are the instances in which the creatures have been caught in 

 pitfalls, made by digging a hole in the paths of the wilderness 

 which they are accustomed to follow, the surface being cov- 

 ered with a frail platform so arranged as to conceal the exca- 

 vation. When one of a tribe is caught in the trap, the others, 

 if time allows before the hunters come to the ground, will in 

 an ingenious way release him. I doubt if the most practicable 

 manner of effecting this will occur at once to the reader. The 

 easiest plan may seem to drag the captive from the pit by 

 sheer strength, but as the hole is deep and has vertical sides, 



