The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-24 00:00:00

LITE'RATUR.O.

Ceylon. By Sir James Emerson Tennent. 2 vole.
Longmans. Second Notice.
One of the most attractive features in the second
volume of this peculiarly instructive and interesting
work is the part which relates to elephants. It is
replete with information so vast and various that
in itself it forms a subject of study to the casual
reader. The author has been at considerable pains
to collect all the desirable detvills on the subject
from the notes and memoranda of recent residents,
the records of ancient and medieval histories, and
from his own recollections and personal observa-
tion. Elephants abound in Ceylon, and their ex-
port has been going on since the period of the first
Punic war. It is mentioned as .an extraordinary
fact, and which is doubtless not generally known,
that " whilst in Africa both sexes have tusks, with
some slight disproportion in the sire of those of the
females, and whilst in India the females are pro-
vided with them, though of much less dimensions
than the males, not one elephant in a hundred is
found with tusks in Ceylon, and the few that pos-
sess them are exclusively males." That elephants
are comparatively harmless in cousequence of their
peaceful natures, is proved by the rarity of
the occurrence of any serious casualty in
the numerous contests that arise between
them and mankind in the frequent captures. It is
truly observed that were they instinctively vicious,
or even highly irritable, the del truction of life
would be on a far more extensive ratio than it is at
present, when the average range it: three fatal oases
in five years in an island abounding in elephants,
with a population of a million and a half. Among
the fallacies here refuted is mentioned the supposed
aversion of the elephant to many- animals, the au-
thor says—" In the quiet solitudes of Ceylon el
may be constantly seen browsing
peacefully
t
in the immediate vicinity of, and in
with, other animals. I have stelae: g
and wild buffaloes reclining in sandyroeuo bed of a
groups of deer
river in the dry season, and eleplfeantspluocnk_ihng the
e_
branches close beside them."
Further
e ing
ex-
presses hish convictionfrightened by
h
t that,e sightin sotfe atdl of
horse,the elephant
eipsh
theant
h
when
latter
anw elephanthoisterrifiaetdt a
cwk when e
an
rider ht
hee ny
amnehi
meot
horseback
sl, andehbauctkre-
serves iithate
has never been known to hurt
all his attacks for the man. A curious cir-
cumstance is here recorded of the sagacity of this
wonderful animal, and a proof of the terror evinced
iannidtys7fter a duo course of
by the
is htorrusoe
tlivahte when icnaphtiisvivtyic,
training, the elephant discovers a new use for his tusk's
when _
employ in moving stones and piling timber; so
much so that a powerful one will raise and carry on them a
log of half a ton weight or more. One evening, whilst rid-
the vicinity of Kandy, towards the scene of the
rid-
ing
in the
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
t
iono
turn
t:
urinph ! !in a hoarse and dissatisfied tone.any attendant.
He was labouring painfully to carry a heavy beam of tim-
ber, 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 dissatis-
fied sounds which disturbed the composure of my horse.
On seeing us halt, the elephant raised his head, recon-
noitred us for a moment, then flung down the timber and
forced himself backwards into the brushwood so as to leave
a passage, of which he expected us to avail ourselves. My,
horse still hesitated; the elephant observed it, and impa-
tiently thrust himself still deeper into the jungle, repeating
his cry of terniph ! but in a voice evide qtly meant to encou •
rage us to come on. Still the horse tr =bled ; and anxious
to observe the instinct of the two sag-scions creatures, I for-
bore any interference • again the elephant wedged himself
further 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, trim and balance it on his tusks, and resume
his route, hoarsely snorting, as before, his discontented re-
monstrance."

Among smaller animals the most obnoxious to ele-
phants is the dog, but this feeling does not amount
to hostility. One reason suggested for the existence
of the antipathy is that the elephant fears the dog
should attack his feet, of which he is very careful, he
will remain indifferent to a spear (Erected against his
head, but shrink at the same poC.xited at his foot.
The conclusion arrived at is, that the eephant
" lives on terms of amity with every quadruped in
the forest, and that, with the exception of man,
his greatest enemy is a fly .!" Th e natives divide
the elephants into castes, detailin g their various
"points." A white elephant is al ways considered
a wonder by Asiatics. One is mentioned in the
Mahawanso as a part of the retin se in the Temple
the fifth century after Christ ; it was meant for an
emblem of royalty, the Sovereigns of Ceylon being
addressed as " Lord of Elephants." It is strange
that though generally found in warm climates the
elephant is not fond of great hi eat or light. The
mountain tops of Ceylon, and not its sultry valleys,
are their favourite haunts, and the hunter has found
herds of them on Peelro-talla-; ;Etna, which is the
height of eight thousand feet. It is mentioned, as
worthy of notice, that, contrary t p our preconceived
notions of the case, the elephant "dislikes the glare

of sunshine, and passes the day in the depths of
thick forests, making his excursions by night.
This is partly in consequence of the peculiar state
of his vision, which is circumscribed, and he relies
more on his senses of smell and hearing than on that
of sight. On account of this imperfection he ex-
hibits great timidity at harmless objects which have
been only partially discerned. An officer once
owed his life to this fact, for the elephant had
seized him and had his fore foot raised to crush
him when the tendrils of a plant suddenly caught
his forehead, and he turned and fled, leaving his
victim hurt, but with no limb broken. There is an
abundance of anecdotical stories here met with at
almost every turn, which forcibly illustrate the
subjects descanted upon, and impress them power-
fully upon the memory of the reader. Their
powers of smell and hearing are proportionately'
great. Aristotle compared the hoarse cry pro-
duced by the elephant blowing through his trunk
to the sound of a trumpet. " The French still call
the proboscis of an elephant troinpe, which we have
unmeaningly corrupted into trunk, and hence the,
scream of the elephant is known as trumpeting
by the hunters in Ceylon." The Ceylon elephant
was formerly asserted to excel that of Africa in size
and strength, but it is here stated such is not the fact,
for so far from equality with the African species4chat of
Ceylon seldom exceeds the height of nine feet, but it
is plausibly stated that the height in the elephant 10
far exceeds that of the animals we see constantly'
that one is naturally prone to exaggeration on that
score. After commenting on the errors that have
been made by writers who have declared that the
legs of the elephant were without joints, and that
when onoe down he could not rise again, we meet
with the following passage which adduces useful
arguments on the controverted question :
" The real peculiarity in the elephant in lying down Is,
that he extends his hind legs backwards as a man does when
he kneels, instead of bringing them under him like the
horse or any other quadruped. The wise purpose of dila
arrangement must be obvious to any one who observes the
struggle with which the horse gets up from the ground, Ann
the violent efforts which he makes to raise himself erect.
Such an exertion in the case of the elephant, and the force
requisite to apply a similar movement to raise his weight
(equal to four or five tons) would be attended with a dan-
gerous strain upon the muscles, and hence the simple ar-
rangement, which by enabling him to draw the hind feet
gradually under him, assists him to rise almost without A
perceptible effort.
" The same construction renders his gait not a
as it has been somewhat loosely described, which would
be too violent a motion for so vast a body; but a skutlie:
that he can increase at pleasure to a pace as rapid as that
of a man at full speed, but which he cannot maintain for
any considerable distance.
It is to the structure of the knee-joint that the elephant
is indebted for his singular facility in ascending and de:
scending steep acclivities, climbing rocks and traversins
precipitous ledges, which even a mule dare not venture;
and this again leads to the correction of another generally'
received error, that his legs are formed more for strength
than flexibility, and fitted to bear an enormous weight uPols
a level surface, without the necessity of ascending or de:
scending great acclivities.' The same authority assures;
that, although the elephant is found in the neighbourhood
of mountainous ranges, and will even ascend reeky passe',
such a service is a violation of his natural habits.
" Of the elephant of Africa I am not qualified to spesig!
nor of the nature of the ground which he most frequentei
but certainly the facts in connection with the elephant (d
India are all irreconcileable with the theory mentioned
above. In Bengal, in the Nilgherries, in Nepaul, in 13111,1
mah, in Siam, and Ceylon, the districts in which the e',,‘°
phants most abound, are all hilly and mountainous. In the
latter, especially, there is not a range so elevated as to
inaccessible to them. On the summit of Adam's Peak,
an altitude of 7,420 feet, and on a pinnacle, which the Oil;
grims climb with difficulty, by means of steps hewn ,„
the rock, Major Skinner, in 1840, found the spoor of an e'"
pliant.
"Prior to 1840, and before coffee-plantations had he ot
extensively opened in the Kandyan ranges, there was 11
a mountain or a lofty feature of land in Ceylon which WI,
had not traversed, in their periodical migrations in sears,
of water ; and the sagacity which they display in
out roads' is almost incredible. They generally, a_Lee
along the backbone of a chain of hills, avoiding steep g',';o
dients ; and one curious observation was not lost upo from
government surveyors, that in crossing the valleys frc'to
ridge to ridge, through forests so dense as altogether,
obstruct a distant view, the elephants invariably select the
line of march which communicates most judiciously wie,
the opposite point, by means of the safest ford. So 81;trie
footed are they, that there are few places where man go:At
an elephant cannot follow, provided there be space to an"'
his bulk, and solidity to sustain his weight."
a
The wild elephants form themselves into herds,ae
they are most scrupulous in their segregating
all of which are most scrupulously adhered to.
by any accident one is entirely separated front
own herd, he is not allowed to join himself to Ts
ether. Even in the capture of the elephant Ith
isolated one is not permitted to take refuge Ivor
any of the herd, but furiously repulsed. In eo,_llol
quence there is a class of solitary elephants wifiett
goes by the name of rogue in Ceylon, and Wfeif
commit all sorts of depredations and are extrersiest ;
vicious. The sagacity of the elephant is very gees
during terrific thunderstorms, they have begs„ oyell
to leave the forests and take up their place re•
ground until the lightning was over, when theY4.o
turned to the jungle. A captured elephant .
supposed to have feigned death, while being .10,
along he hesitated and finally sank apparently
less to the ground. After all attempts to raiee
had proved futile it was abandoned. The party'fr
had "scarcely taken their departure, when to Oleo
astonishment the elephant rose with the utni°o
alacrity, and fled towards' the jungle, screaraiag.,g
the top of its voice, its cries being audible lo,".71
after it had disappeared in the shades of the forest.
In the chapter on elephant shooting, it is trly,
said that the mode practised in Ceylon is infinite 4
the best, and contrasts favourably with the Pio
counts given of the slaughter in South Africa. .eh
Ceylon they invariably aim at the head whio.
is tho right way of accomplishing an "ift
stantaneous death, expert sportsmen It 00
said have been known to kill right and left, oe,
with each barrel. The accounts given of the elto
phant captures are very interesting, and it is cur/00
to note the course adopted by the hunters; ito%
necessary to go against the wind in appeoaellleo,
the animal, and the professional catchers, " ?7h"be
the wind is so still that its direction canto,' s.
otherwise discerned, will suspend the film 01 gnc.
samer to determine it, and shape their co a -urse nt
cordingly." The mode of capture varies in differ: •
places ; the plan adopted in Ceylon is to form 7,
large enclosure called a " Corral, from the por,-;:•
guese "cural,"—or "cattle pen." Tame elephs",,o
others,a r e takand al's,—or
h et
ihre e huntersffort
s ar ie
n order
generally
ow attractned wtros
success.
tAhfeteerlefpohrmanintsg. thTeh:orfroalllowthinevg hpaitvssein:
dri
yindescribes the exciting scone that took
A'in hcleelftehrunt sunsetw i witnessed se d
scene b yexthhiebiateudthwoans inof 1e.,8ct4r07c:r73;7,,i1
interest; the low fires, which had apparently onlyll3w+lie
dared in the sunlight, assumed their ruddy glow amidst
darkness, and threw their tinge over the. groups coi
he
round them ; while the smoke rosed in eddiesttroeug_hslo,
rich foliage of the trees. The crow s ofdsipec a
ercelutp
tamed profound silence and notOna saousnuddevnas p
beyond the hum of an insect.
was broken by the roll of a drum, followed by tahediBetiehliaritiertd.Bl,
yen edr sle'enteredthiciskws a\
were
dand
n leavestuhs
ek musketry.
ettrhheee
shoutscfisianirclgeawlufiothorhthtehe
ot
they blazed aloft, and formed a line of flame on every ell/
except in the direction of the corral, which was studione.„
w renewedaantcdhelaarsn
les
watch-fires
kept dark; and thither the terrified elephants betook th°"-
selves followed by the yells and rocket of their pursuersv
" They approached at a rapid pace, trampling down tor
brushwood and crushing the dry branches, the lea
ed
emerged in front of the corral, paused for an instant, s''•ii
wildly round, and then rushed headlong through the Or
gate followed by the rest of the herd. h i 0
" As if by magic the entire circuit of the corral, which
this moment had been kept in profound darkness, now 191,10
with a thousand lights, every hunter on the instant that •
elephants entered, rushing forward to the stockade with
torch kindled at the nearest watch-fire.
,t The elephants dashed to the very extremity of then ,j'y
closure, and being brought up by the powerful fence, st''rer
back to regain the gate, but found it closed. Their terser
was sublime ; they hurried round the corral at a rapid,rd to
but saw it now girt by fire on every side ; they attempts till
force the stockade, but were driven back by the guards's-1y
spears and flambeaux; an on whichever side the/ ;01
preached they were repulsed with shouts and discharges
musketry. Collecting into one group, they would pa itt
for a moment in apparent bewilderment, then burst offto
another direction as if it had suddenly occurred to theo,io
try some point which they had before overlooked ; but ag,,,ca
repulsed, they slowly returned to their forlorn resting-P'
in the centre of the corral.
l°
" The interest of this strange scene was not confine—A m. eOl
the spectators; it extended to the tame elephants w,,-,•pg
were stationed outside. At the first approach of the co
herd they evinced the utmost interest in the scene. ar•
in particular which were picketed near the front were ing
tensely excited, and continued tossing their heads, PaNcl
ttf
the ground, and starting as the noise drew near. At 1040
when the grand rush into the corral took place, one ofths
fairly burst from her fastenings and started off towards
herd, levelling a tree of considerable size which obstrilc
her passage."
sc'tlS
The chepters which relate the difficulties met' ,
in securing the captives are very well worthitt•
notice, and it is especially remarkable to perusepwir
records of the sagacity exhibited by the tamed-
phants in serving as decoys to the
wild tribes, Air
in seconding the efforts of the men in a most till
tounding manner. It is an old adage that " tr,7•o
is stranger than fiction," and those
who stud,' `tir.
details ofthis work will find that they equal, if not
pass, in exciting interest many far-famed romann-in‘
On another occasion we shall glance at the rat'
ing contents of these excellent volumes.

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