Till: A-/ATW BLBPHAM 







Having thu- ui\.-n a short sketch ,,f the character! -tic- which are r<>imii<ni t<. Uith -periea 

 of Elephant-, I will proceed to a short account of tin- Asiatic animal. 



Tin A-iMi' I i M-HAXT bears a worldwide fame for itacapabiUties as servant and com- 

 panion f man, ami for the extraordinary <1< \> lopment of its intellectual faculties. Hundreds 

 of tin--*- animals are annual Iv raptured. ami in a \t-ry short |riod uf time become wholly sub- 

 jected to their owners, and learn to obey their commands with implicit Hiilniiittsion. Indeed. 

 the ] ' ill-- human intellect is never ao conspicuous a- in the supremacy which man 



maintains over so gigantic and . l.-\.-r an animal as the Klfphant. In all work which require* 

 the application of great strength. combined with singular judgment, the Elephant in supreme: 

 but as a mere puller and hauler it is of no very great value. In piling logs, for example, the 

 Klephant soon learns the pro] ter mode of arrangement, and will place them n|Min each other 

 with a regularity that would not U surpassed by human workmen. Sir Kmer-on Ti-niu-iit 

 mentions a |iii of Elephants thai POM Ml iMtonu ! to lalxn conjointly, wd vhiflfe ILL I !> n 

 tau_'ht to raise their wood -piles to a considerable height l>y constructing an inclined plane of 

 -loping beams. an<l rolling the logs up the beamH. The same writer, in his most valuable woik 

 on Ceylon, gives the following curious instance of intelligence in on Klephant : 



"One evening. while riiliiiir in the vicinity of Kandy, towards the stvne of the massacre 

 of Major Davie's party in lso:t, my horse evinced some excitement at a noise which approached 

 n- in the thick jungle, and which consisted of a re|ietition of the ejaculation, Ui m/>/t .' iin/iji/t .' 

 in a hoar*- an<I di atisli.-d tone. A turn in the forest explained the mystery, by bringing me 

 face to face with a tame Klephant. unaccompaaM by any attendant. He was laboring juiin- 

 fully to carry a heavy beam of timl>er, which he balanced across his tusks, but the pathway 

 being narrow, he was forced to liend his head to one side to permit it to pass endways ; and 

 the exertion and inconvenience combined led him to utter the di ati-tied sounds which di- 

 turbed the composure of my dorse. 



"On seeing us halt, the Elephant raised his head, reconnoitred us for a moment, then Hum: 

 down the timber, and forced himself backwards among the brushwood, so as to leave a pass- 

 age, of which he expected us to avail ourselves. My horse still hesitated : the Klephant 

 observed, and impatiently thrust himself still deeper into the jungle. re|>eating his cry of 

 r//i/>/i .' but in a voice e\ id. -nth meant to encourage us to come on. Still the horse trembled ; 

 and, anxious to observe the instinct of the two sagacious creatures, I forUnv any interfer- 

 ence : again the Kit -pliant wedged himself further in amongst the trees, and wait-d 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 burden, turn and balance it on his tusks, and resume 

 his route, hoarsely snorting, as before, his discontented remonstrance." 



Another Hie] liant of Ceylon performed a feat of equal sagacity. 



By profession he was a builder, and was employed in laying stones under the supervision 

 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 Klephant 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 l>ody 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 ju-t built, and which was defective in the spot which he had been 

 attempting to conceal from the in-jH-ctor'- e\e. 



Although so valuable an animal for certain kinds of work, the Elephant Is hardly so 

 effective an assistant as is generally snp].os-d. "'Hie working Elephant." says Sir K. T.-n 

 h.iit, "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 them is hardly any weight which 

 could be conveniently plao-d on him that he could not carry, it i- difficult M pack it without 

 causing abrasions that afterwards ulcerate. Hi- skin is easily chafed by harness, esj-ecially 

 in wet weather. Either during lonir droughts, or too much moisture, his feet are liable to 

 which render him non-effective for month- Many attempts have been made to pro\ id- 



