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GUIDE TO THE 
as an instance of the understanding, reason and gratitude 
of the elephant. It has been recorded by the late Dr. 
Daniel Wilson, Bishop of Calcutta, that an elephant belong¬ 
ing to a friend of his had become blind from a disease in 
its eyes, and a physician bethought himself to try the 
remedy commonly used for the treatment of a human 
patient under similar circumstances. Accordingly the 
animal was made to lie down, and when the nitrate of 
silver was applied to one of its eyes, it uttered a terrific 
roar at the acute pain which it occasioned. The 
effect was wonderful as sight was at once partially res¬ 
tored. The doctor was ready to operate on the other 
eye on the following day, and “ the animal, when it was 
brought out and heard the doctor's voice, lay down 
of its own accord, placed its head quietly on one side, 
curled up its trunk, drew in its breath like a human 
being about to endure a painful operation, gave a sigh of 
relief when it was over, and then, by motions of its trunk 
and other gestures, gave evident signs of wishing to 
express its gratitude.” 
In the present day, the Asiatic elephant, Elephas indicus , 
is found wild throughout nearly all the forest lands of 
India, Ceylon, Burma, the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, 
Siam and Cochin-China. Extensive captures of elephants 
for the Indian Government are annually effected, on a 
large scale, by Mr. G. P. Sanderson, Superintendent of 
Kheddahs. 
The African elephant differs from the Asiatic species in 
many important points, more especially, in the struc¬ 
ture of its teeth, so much so that the distinguished 
zoologist, Frederic Cuvier, proposed to place it in a distinct 
genus, as he held the opinion “ that in its general form, 
