ELEPHANTS 71 



denly let forth a roar or bellow, without the 

 least cause. When one elephant does this 

 there is always the danger of a stampede 

 among the others, for elephants are extremely 

 nervous and very easily excited. On more 

 than one occasion Coco has been the means of 

 causing a stampede among the elephants in 

 this manner which is a serious thing. 



On one occasion, in the early morning, 

 Coco was found to be in a particularly bad 

 mood. He was restless and irritable, tried to 

 quarrel with his next-door neighbor, tried to 

 pull the men's coats off with his trunk, and 

 then sent forth such a roar, once, twice, three 

 times, that one by one all his companions 

 took it up ; then the larger herds heard it 

 and promptly followed suit, and in far less 

 time than it takes to write it, first one and 

 then another broke his chains and all the 

 men rushed about doing their best to soothe 

 and quiet the animals, for another stampede 

 had taken place. 



The most tiresome part of it all was that 

 Coco could not be prevailed upon to stop his 



