ELEPHANTS 
order and control of a creature so much his inferior in size 
and strength as a human being. 
At the present time the most cruel and wonton destruc- 
tion of these wonderful animals is being carried out in 
Africa instead of capturing, taming, and training them to 
work as carriers, and by these means reduce the necessity 
of employing slave-labour; ten pack elephants would, carry 
merchandise equal to three hundred native carriers. If 
Africa is to become a civilized country the sooner this 
subject is taken up the better, before it is too late. It 
was said and thought that the African elephant could not 
be tamed and that the animal would not live in captivity. 
All these old notions are now looked upon as fables. 
Numbers of African elephants have of late years been 
imported into Europe, among others the celebrated 
“Jumbo,” probably the largest elephant ever seen in 
Europe. His docility and good temper rendered him the 
pet of thousands, but, like all male elephants when they 
are nearly full grown, “ Jumbo ” at a certain season and 
for a time became troublesome and required strict and 
sometimes rather severe treatment. It is well known in 
India and wherever elephants are kept that this is neces- 
sary, but in this country anything that could be discovered 
as cruel treatment would at once be taken up by persons 
who are perfectly ignorant of the subject, and their stupid 
interference would expose the people in charge of the 
animals to be condemned for carrying out the only means 
of preventing the animal doing mischief during the time 
the restless ht lasted. 
The destruction of thousands of these valuable and 
useful animals for the ivory alone, ought to raise a strong 
protest against such cruel slaughter. There is, it is well 
known, a determination on the J3art of the natke carriers 
to prevent the use of elephants as far as they have any 
