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THE ASIATIC ELEPHANT 
Having thus given a short sketch of the characteristics which are common to both species 
of Elephants, I will proceed to a short account of the Asiatic animal. 
The Asiatic Elephant bears a world-wide fame for its capabilities as a servant and com- 
panion of man, and for the extraordinary development of its intellectual faculties. Hundreds 
of these animals are annually captured, and in a very short period of time become wholly sub 
jected to their owners, and learn to obey their commands with implicit submission. Indeed, 
the power of the human intellect is never so conspicuous as in the supremacy which man 
maintains over so gigantic and clever an animal as the Elephant. In all work which requires 
the application of great strength, combined with singular judgment, the Elephant is supreme : 
but as a mere puller and hauler it is of no very great value. In piling logs, for example, the 
Elephant soon learns the proper mode of arrangement, and will place them upon each other 
with a regularity that would not be surpassed by human workmen. Sir Emerson Tennent 
mentions a pair of Elephants that were accustomed to labor conjointly, and which had been 
taught to raise their wood -piles to a considerable height by constructing an inclined plane of 
sloping beams, and rolling the logs up the beams. The same writer, in his most valuable work 
on Ceylon, gives the following curious instance of intelligence in an Elephant : 
“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 1 
in a hoarse and dissatisfied tone. A turn in the forest explained the mystery, by bringing me 
face to face with a tame Elephant, unaccompanied by any attendant. He was laboring pain- 
fully 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 inconvenience combined led him to utter the dissatisfied sounds which dis- 
turbed the composure 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 pass- 
age, 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 interfer- 
ence : 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 burden, 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 supervision 
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. Ten- 
nent, “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 
