19 Anecdotal Natural History. 



the behaviour of an Indian elephant, very inappro- 

 priately named Pangul, or Fool. 



The animal knew perfectly well the weight of the 

 burden which he had to carry, and if he were over- 

 loaded, either refused to stir, or shook off his load by 

 wriggling his skin. 



One day an officer was trying to overload him, and 

 became so angry at seeing the load repeatedly thrown 

 off, that he flung a tent-peg at the elephant. Pangul 

 took no notice at the time, but a few days after- 

 wards he met his persecutor alone. Pangul imme- 

 diately picked him up with his trunk, put him among 

 the branches of a large tamarind tree, and left him 

 there to get down as he could. 



Gigantic as the elephant may be, it is horribly 

 afraid of any small quadruped. A kitten which 

 happened to stray among some elephants drove them 

 half mad with terror, occasioning as much unreason- 

 able consternation as a cockroach or mouse in a 

 drawing-room full of ladies. 



Yet, an elephant has been known to take a fancy 

 to a cat, or rather, the cat took a fancy to the 

 elephant. She had a fixed idea that his back was a 

 sleeping-place expressly designed by nature for her, 

 and on his back she -would go. At first, the elephant 

 took her off his back and put her out of his cage, but 

 as fast as he put her down in front, she slipped 

 round and climbed up his hind quarters again. So 

 the elephant let her have her own way, and soon 

 became quite attached to the cat. 



The reader may remember that I have alluded to 

 the assistant male elephants which play the part of the 

 Philistines to the captive Samson, just as the koom- 

 kies take the part of Delilah. 



These assistant elephants are as carefully trained 

 to fight as our modern boxers, and, as with man. 



