WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



disturbing our proceedings, as I was fearful that the noise 

 made by the other keepers would alarm the brute or cause 

 him to be restless. Standing under his lower jaw and 

 passing the instrument above the swollen part, I, with a 

 sharp pull, hooking fast into the skin, cut it through, caus- 

 ing a most frightful discharge of very offensive matter ; 

 the poor beast uttered a loud shriek and rushed from us, 

 bleeding, shaking and trembling, but without exhibiting 

 any anger. After a little coaxing and talking to he 

 allowed us to wash out the wound by syringing it with 

 water. On the following morning we determined to 

 operate upon the other abscess on the opposite side. We 

 had, however, some misgiving as to the result of our 

 second attempt to operate upon him, but, to our intense 

 surprise, the beast stood perfectly still until the sudden 

 cut caused him to start and give another cry like the one 

 he littered the day before. The improvement in the 

 animal's condition after these two operations was most 

 remarkable ; the tusks soon made their appearance growing 

 through the apertures that had been cut for the discharge 

 of the abscesses instead of coming out under the upper 

 lip, their ordinary, or I may say their proper, place. 



But to return to " Jumbo's " early days, I may remark 

 that he was very soon strong enough to carry children on 

 his back, and, therefore, a new howdah was made for 

 him. At that time all the cash handed to the keepers 

 of the elephants by the persons who rode on them was 

 the keepers' perquisites. How much they received from 

 the visitors will probably never be known, but, as " Jumbo " 

 became the great favourite, Scott came in for the lion's 

 share. This, no doubt, was the cause of his refusing to 

 have the assistance of any other keeper ; in fact, all the 

 keepers had a fear of him, probably not without cause.^ 



' Since the departure of " Jumbo," by order of the Council an 



48 



