Captivity 63 



of the earth, air and water were theirs. With 

 one tap of the trunk they passed without 

 pausing if the foothold were sound, or stopped 

 short to avoid some danger imperceptible to 

 man ; they knew in the same way if the sand 

 beneath the water was firm or treacherous, if 

 the current was too swift to allow of safe 

 passage ; and with one wave of the trunk they 

 both detected danger and located it. And 

 so it is that in times of flood or fire, or, worst 

 of all, of earthquake, the distress of these 

 animals, should they be prevented from utilizing 

 their powers for escape, is so marked as to be 

 almost pathetic. 



The herd in which our elephant still found 

 himself consisted of individuals all more or less 

 experienced, all amply endowed by nature with 

 the means to pass a happy and long life, but 

 each differing in strength and in characteristics 

 as much as is found to be the case in com- 

 munities of human beings. Only, amongst the 

 elephants, there was blind confidence in one 

 leader, for the reason that discussion and fore- 

 thought were denied them. It was a republic 



