ELEPHANT— GENERAL INTELLIGENCE. 399 



The following is quoted from Mr. Watson's book : ^ — 

 Of the elephant's sense and judgment the following instance 

 is given as a well-known fact in a letter of Dr. Daniel Wilson, 

 Bishop of Calcutta, to his son in England, printed in a Life of 

 the bishop, published a few years ago. An elephant belonging 

 to an Engineer officer in his diocese had a disease in his eyes, 

 and had for three days been completely blind. His owner 

 asked Dr. Webb, a physician intimate with the bishop, if he 

 could do anything for the relief of the animal. Dr. Webb 

 replied that he was willing to try, on one of the eyes, the eflfect 

 of nitrate of silver, which was a remedy commonly used for 

 similar diseases in the human eye. The animal was accordingly 

 made to lie down, and when the nitrate of silver was applied, 

 uttered a terrific roar at the acute pain which it occasioned. 

 But the effect of the application was wonderful, for the eye was 

 in a great degree restored, and the elephant could partially see. 

 The doctor was in consequence ready to operate similarly on 

 the other eye on the following day ; and the animal, when he 

 was brought out and heard the doctor's voice, lay down of him- 

 self, placed his head quietly on one side, curled up his trunk, 

 drew in his breath like a human being about to endure a pain- 

 ful operation, gave a sigh of relief when it was over, and then, 

 by motions of his trunk and other gestures, gave evident signs 

 of wishing to express his gratitude. Here we plainly see in 

 the elephant memory, understanding, and reasoning from one 

 thing to another. The animal remembered the benefit that he 

 had felt from the application to one eye, and when he was 

 brought to the same place on the following day and heard the 

 operator's voice, he concluded that a like service was to be done 

 to his other eye. 



The fact that elephants exhibit this sagacious fortitude 

 under surgical operations — thus resembling, as we shall 

 afterwards observe, both dogs and monkeys — is corro- 

 borated by another instance given in Bingley's ' Animal 

 Biography,'^ and serves to render credible the following 

 story given in the same work : — 



In the last war in India a young elephant received a violent 

 wound in its head, the pain of which rendered it so frantic and 

 ungovernable that it was found impossible to persuade the 

 animal to have the part dressed. Whenever any one approached 



* Reasoning Power of Animals, pp. 54-5. 



2 Bingley, Animal BiograjJhy^ vol. i., p. 155. 



