AMATEUR ELEPHANT TRAINING. 123 



into the ring and the clown seated himself on one side of it. 

 On the other side the elephant who had been performing squatted 

 on his haunches. The "supes" then brought in plates of 

 apples, bread, etc., and arranged them on the table. A large 

 two-pronged fork was now handed to the elephant, and with this 

 he dexterously '^ speared '^ his provender and conveyed it to his 

 mouth. Tiiis appeared quite wonderful, and was hailed with 

 rounds of applause, but it was a trick very easily taught. The 

 animal had been first given apples on a fork, and not being 

 allowed to eat them except on taking them off the fork with his 

 mouth he soon learned to do so. Then he was given the fork, 

 and the apples placed before him, his trunk was guided by his 

 trainer's hand to strike the fork into the apple and then he was 

 allowed to carry it to his mouth. If the apples be good ones 

 he will soon learn to do all this without prompting, and will 

 very willingly perform the trick for the sake of the " perquisites.'' 



We do not iuiagine that many of our readers will have occa- 

 sion to train an elephant ; still there' is often an opportunity 

 afforded at traveling exhibitions, should you desire it, to make 

 an elephant go through a little performance for you, such as pick- 

 ing up your hat, catching apples or nuts thrown him, etc. A 

 judicious outlay in ginger-bread and like delicacies will induce 

 his elephantship to be quite obliging, and if your stock of edi- 

 bles be purchased at the stand in the tent, probably the pro- 

 prietors will offer no objection to your feeding their elephant 

 with them. 



Speaking of amateur elephant exhibitors recalls an adventure 

 of our own youthful days. Visiting a menagerie early one 

 afternoon when comparatively few visitors were present, and 

 anxious to " show of" before some less venturesome youths, we 

 had, at the expense of all our pocket money, caused one of the 

 elephants to pick up our cap when thrown down and hand it 

 back to us, to insert his trunk in our pockets after cake, and 

 finally, as a crowning feat, to take bits of cake from between our 

 lips. Had we been contented with these achievements our per- 

 formance would have been a triumph ,• but, alas, our ambition 

 was not satisfied, and we thought it would be a still greater 

 display to make the elephant take the cake from the inside of 

 our mouth. So a piece was a placed therein and the mouth 

 held invitingly open. Mr. Elephant unhesitatingly inserted his 

 proboscis, but unfortunately our supply of cake had been well 

 nigh exhausted, and the piece used for the experiment was verT/ 

 small, so either from inability to find it, a mistake in the article, 

 or as a punishment for reducing the rations, he got hjld of our 

 tongue, and the first thing we knew he was attemptmg to pull it 



