Litchfield enquirer., 1854-11-02
wild Elephants.

[
 > A person who has never seen a wild elephant, can form no idea of Eis real character. either menlaily or physically. The unwieldy and sleepy looking beast, who, pcnned up in his cage in a rnenaS gerie, receives .. sixpence in his trunk. and turns around with difficulty to de-
 post it ina box: whose mental powers seem to be concentrated tn lhe, idea of receiving buns tossed into gaping mouth by children's hands; this very beast may have come from waslike stock His sire may have been the terror of a dis I,sict. n pi,il"ss highwayman. whose soul thirsted for blood who, lling in wait in somc thick bush. would rush upon the unwary passer- by. snd know no pleasure greater than the act of crushing Us vic. I1im to a shapeless mass beneath his feet. *.p \ have even hesrd7people ex. claim upon hearing anecdotes of elephant hunting, "poor things!'' Poor things, lndeedl l should like to see tie very person who thus expresses his pity, go> ing with his best pace with asavage ele- phant after him. Give him lawn 10 run upon if he,likes, and see the elephant gaining a foot in every yard of the chase. fire in his eyes. and fury in his headlong charge: and would not the flying gen~ ,leman who lately exclaimed poor thingp be thankful 10 the lucky bullet that would save him from destruction There are no animals more misunderstood than ele.
 plants they are naturally savage, wary and revengeful. displaying as great cour> age when in their wild state ss any ani> mal known. The fact of tbeir great nat. ural sagacity renders them more danger
 ous as f"es. Even when tanned there are many that are not safe for a stranger to approhch, and they are then only kept in awe by the sharp driving hook of the ma; bout. seu t1oM 7'et ao fR n
 Elephants arc grega,ious, and the av- craze namher in herd is about eight, although they frequently form bodies of 6'ty and even eighty in one troop. Each herd consists of very large proportion of females, and they are constantly met without a single bull in their number. l have seen some small herds formed ex>. clrsively of bulls. but this Is very rare. The bull is much larger than the female, and is generally more savage. His hab- is frequently induce him to prefer sof' .udc to gregarious life.. He then be- comes dou6ly vicious. He seldom stray- , many miles from enc locality. which he haunts for many years. He becomes what ia termed "rogue." He then waylays the natives. and tn fact becomes a scourge to the neighborhocd, attacking the inoffeEsive without the slightest rro> vocation. carrying destruction into the palive's paddy fields. and perfectly ie> gardless of night fires or the usual pres cautions for soaring wild beasts. The darling pluck of these "rogues" Is only equalled by their extreme cunning. En- dowed with that wonderful power of seen, peculiar to elephants, he travels in the day time down the wind thus nothing can follow upon bis track without his knowledge. He winds his enemy, as the cautious hunter advances noiselessly upon his track. and he stands win ear- tirnwn forward, uil erect, trunk thrown high in .he air. with it's disicnded tip pointed to the spot from which he winds the silent but approaching danger Perfectly mos tionless does he stand, like a statue ir ebony, the very essence Of attention, ev. cry nerve of scent and hearing sire ched 10 its cfacking point; not . muscle moves not sound of a aruslIiDg tr,nch against his rough sides be is mute figure of wild and fierce sagerniss. Meanwhile, the wnry tracker stoops to the ground, and with piactised eye pierces the tens gled brushwood in oh of lis colo. sal feet. StiIl further and further he silently crpeps fofwatd, when suddenly crash bu'sts though ll,e jungle the moment has arrived for the ambusbed charge and thc elephant is upon him. n Baker's R;te and Hound in Csyion. ge sa .8.41