146 THE ELEPHANT. 



of a rope, which they hold fast with their teeth ; 

 that, uniting sagacity to strength, they never break 

 or injure any thing committed to their charge; 

 that, from the banks of the rivers, they put 

 these bundles into boats without wetting them, 

 laying tliein down gently, and arranging them 

 where they ought to be placed ; that, when disposed 

 in the places where their masters direct, they try 

 with their trunks whether the goods are properly 

 stowed ; and, if a tun or cask rolls, they go, of 

 their own accord, in quest of stones to prop, and 

 render it firm. 



M. Phillipe was an eye-witness to the followdng 

 facts : — He one day went to the river at Goa, near 

 which place a great ship was building. Here was 

 a large area filled with beams for that purpose. 

 So.;;e men tied the ends of heavy beams with a rope> 

 which was handed to an Elephant, who carried it to 

 .his mouth, and after tVvisting it round his trunk, 

 drew it, without any conductor, to the place v^diere 

 the ship was building. One of the Elephants some- 

 times drew beams so large, that more than twenty 

 men would have been necessary to move them. But 

 what surprized this gentleman still more was, that 

 when other beams obstructed the road, he elevated 

 the ends of his ovv'U beam, that it might run easily 

 over those which lay in his way. Could the most 

 enlightened man liave done more ^'? 



At Mahie, on the coast of Malabar, M. Toreen 

 tells us, he had an opportunity of admiring the 



* Voyage du M, Phillipe, quoted iu Bufl! Uuad. 



