INTELLIGENCE OF THE ELEPHANT. j 735 



" One evening, while riding in the vicinity of Kandy, towards the scene of the 

 massacre of Major Davie's party in 1803, my horse evinced some excitement at a noise 

 which approached us in the thick jungle, and which consisted of a repetition of the 

 ejaculation, Urmph ! urmph ! in a hoarse and dissatisfied tone. A turn in the forest 

 explained the mystery, by bringing me face to face with a tame Elephant, unaccom- 

 panied by any attendant. He was laboring painfully to carry a heavy beam of timber, 

 which he balanced across his tusks, but the pathway being narrow, he was forced to 

 bend his head to one side to permit it to pass endways ; and the exertion and incon- 

 venience combined, led him to utter the dissatisfied sounds which disturbed the com- 

 posure of my horse. 



On seeing us halt, the Elephant raised his head, reconnoitred us for a moment, then 

 flung down the timber, and forced himself backwards among the brushwood, so as to 

 leave a passage, of which he expected us to avail ourselves. My horse still hesitated : 

 the Elephant observed, and impatiently thrust himself still deeper into the jungle, 

 repeating his cry of urmph ! but in a voice evidently meant to encourage us to come 

 on. Still the horse trembled ; and, anxious to observe the instinct of the two sagacious 

 creatures, I forbore any interference : again the Elephant wedged himself farther in 

 amongst the trees, and waited impatiently for us to pass him, and after the horse had 

 done so, tremblingly and timidly, I saw the wise creature stoop and take up his heavy 

 burthen, turn and balance it on his tusks, and resume his route, hoarsely snorting, as 

 before, his discontented remonstrance." 



Another Elephant of Ceylon performed a feat of equal sagacity. 



By profession he was a builder, and was employed in laying stones under the super- 

 vision of an overseer. Whenever he completed one course, he signalled to the overseer, 

 who came and inspected his work, and after ascertaining that the task was properly 

 performed, gave the signal to lay another course. On one occasion, the Elephant 

 placed himself against a portion of the wall, and refused to move from the spot, when 

 the overseer came to the part of the wall which his body concealed. The overseer, 

 however, insisted on the animal's moving aside, and the Elephant, seeing that his 

 ruse had failed, immediately set hard to work at pulling down the wall which he had 

 just built, and which was defective in the spot which he had been attempting to 

 conceal from the inspector's eye. 



Although so valuable an animal for certain kinds of work, the Elephant is hardly so 

 effective an assistant as is generally supposed. " The working Elephant," says Sir E. 

 Tennent, " is always a delicate animal, and requires watchfulness and care ; as a beast 

 of burden he is unsatisfactory ; for although in point of mere strength there is hardly 

 any weight which could be conveniently placed on him that he could not carry, it is 

 difficult to pack it without causing abrasions that afterwards ulcerate. His skin is 

 easily chafed by harness, especially in wet weather. Either during long droughts, or 

 too much moisture, his feet are liable to sores, which render him non-effective for 

 months. Many attempts have been made to provide him with some protection for the 

 sole of the foot, but from his extreme weight and mode of planting the foot, they have 

 all been unsuccessful. His eyes are also liable to frequent inflammation. In Ceylon, 

 the murrain among cattle is of frequent occurrence, and carries off great numbers of 

 animals, wild as well as tame. In such visitations the Elephants suffer severely, not 

 only those at liberty in the forest, but those which are carefully tended in the Govern- 

 ment stables. 



On being first subjected to work, the Elephant is liable to severe and often fatal 

 swellings of the jaws and abdomen. On the whole, there may be a question as to the 

 prudence or ecnomy of maintaining a stud of Elephants for the purposes to which they 

 are assigned in Ceylon. In the rude and unopened parts of the country where rivers 

 are to be forded, and forests are only traversed by jungle paths their labor is of value 

 in certain contingencies, in the carrying of stores and in the earlier operations for the 

 construction of fords and bridges of timber. But in more highly civilized districts, and 

 wherever macadamized roads admit of the employment of horses and oxen for draught, 

 I apprehend that the services of Elephants might, with advantage, be probably 

 reduced, if not altogether dispensed with." The able writer then proceeds to observe 



