Ill 



THE SOUL-LIFE OF ANIMALS 



WHOEVER travels in the remote and almost un- 

 known regions of Africa, not merely for the sake 

 of material gain, but im])elled chiefly by the desire to 

 enlarge the domain of human knowledge, and whoever 

 combines with this desire a sympathetic interest in the 

 intelligence and the soul-life of animals, need never feel 

 lonely. He will find, as the immortal Brehm did in the 

 Sudan, comfort and solace and entertainment in the 

 companionship of his animal friends, if he possesses at 

 all the gift of appreciating their social instincts. 



Prince Pless told me once that the keepers of the 

 Indian elephants, the mahuts, are able to interpret 

 about one hundred utterances of their animals, while 

 the elephants understand almost every word of their 

 guides. We find even among wild animals a number 

 of species which, in a short while, show purely altruistic 

 feelings of friendship for their masters. For over twenty 

 years no young rhinoceros shipped to Europe had 

 reached its destination alive. I was convinced that 

 the cause of the death of these young animals was 



24 



