ii2 THE MINDS AND MANNERS 



6. To "hand up" any article from the ground to the reach 

 of a person riding. 



7. To pull down an obstructing bough. 



8. To halt. 



9. To back. 



10. To pick up the end of a drag-rope and place it between 

 the teeth. 



11. To drag a timber. 



12. To kneel and with the head turn a log over, or turn 

 it with the tusks if any are present. 



13. To push a log into position parallel with others. 



14. To balance and carry timbers on the tusks, if possessing 

 tusks of sufficient size. 



15. To "speak," or trumpet. 



1 6. To work in harness. 



Every working elephant in India is supposed to possess 

 the intelligence necessary to the performance of all the acts enum- 

 erated above at the command of his driver, either by spoken 

 words, a pressure of the knees or feet, or a touch with the driving 

 goad. For the sake of generalization I have purposely excluded 

 from this list all tricks and accomplishments which are not 

 universally taught to working elephants. We have seen, how- 

 ever, that performing elephants are capable of executing nearly 

 double the number of acts commonly taught to the workers; 

 and, while it is useless to speculate upon the subject, it must be 

 admitted that, were a trainer to test an elephant's memory by 

 ascertaining the exact number of commands it could remember 

 and execute in rotation, the result would far exceed anything 

 yet obtained. For my own part, I believe it would exceed a 

 hundred. The performance in the circus-ring is limited by time 

 and space, and not by the mental capacity of the elephants. 



Comprehension under Training. When we come to 

 consider the comparative mental receptivity and comprehension 

 of animals under man's tuition, we find the elephant absolutely 

 unsurpassed. 





