56 ELEPHANTS. 



valuable as those caught at Tipper ah, Chittayong, 

 and Sylhet. I believe there are no wild elephants 

 in any of the English territories on the south of 

 the river Ganges. I have known eight together, 

 in a wild state, pass through part of the town of 

 Chittrah ; one of them had a brass ring round one 

 of his tusks ; I imagine, therefore, they were all 

 elephants that at some time or other had escaped 

 from their keepers into the jungles. Their natural 

 history is so generally known, that it would be 

 presumption in me to enter into a detail of it. 

 Two extraordinary instances of their wonderful 

 sagacity (or reasoning faculty), came within my 

 knowledge, which strongly corroborate the state- 

 ments given of their general character. 



An elephant belonging to Mr. Boddam, of the 

 Bengal civil service at Gyah, used every day 

 to pass over a small bridge leading from his mas- 

 ter's house into the town of Gyah ; he one day re- 

 fused to go over it, and it was with great difficulty, 

 by goring him most cruelly with the haukuss, 

 (an iron instrument) that the Mahout (driver) 

 could get him to venture on the bridge, the 

 strength of which he first tried with his trunk, 

 shewing clearly that he suspected that it was not 

 sufficiently strong ; at last he went on, and before 



