National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1871-06-16
SagacjOus Elephants.


II is astonishing how tame elephants
become after being some time domesti-
Gated. The mahout and his family, and
the elephant all occupy the same house.
The elephant has his dinner of cakes of
unleavened bread, prepared for him at
the same time rs his ruler, as they all
eat together. / have seen their child, an
infant not able to walk, in charge of the
elephant. It was really most amusing
and interesting to see the solicitude dis
played by this gigantic nurse. As his
little charge would crawl nearly out of
his reach from the place where he was
picketed, he would stretch out his trunk,
and gently lifting the infant up, place
him down near his feet. After playing
about some time, the child got tired and
went to sleep, the elephant meanwhile
breaking off green branch from a
neighboring tree, waved 1t gently back
wards and forwards over the face of the
sleeping infant lest the flies should dis
turb him in his slumber The creature
might have been taught to do this, but it
still proves of what extraordinary saga
city these animals are possessed. ! was
once out on II tiger party, in which there
was female elephant remarkably tame
and sagacious. She used to come to our
tent every morning while we were break
fasting and beg for pieces of bread or
ANYTHING else that was to be had. On
being presented with IA piece of money,
she would walk off to the bazaar, and
purchase sweetmeats, and woe betide the
dealer if he attempts to cheat her.
More than once, the maheut informed us,
she had pulled the whole shop over the
heads of the knavish dealers who had
not given her fair exchange for her
money. She would draw the cork from
bottle with her trunk, 40 matter how
tightly it was hammered down, and
drink its contents, 1t appeared, indeed,
that she was given to strong liquors and
the mahout told us she had been repeat
edlv dead drunk when gentlemen had
given her sufficient quantity of spirits.
Two buckets full he informed us, was
about the necessary quantity to make her
groggy We did not, however, try the
experiment, thinking that an inebriated
elephant in close camp would be about
as pleasant n customer as bull in chi
M shop.
How He PUNISHED THEM.-American
merchants have reputation for acute
ness and sagacity, but there are few of
them that can surpass, in that respect,
the gentleman of whom good story is
told in English papers. He is a mer
chant in London, and lately found that
a rival establishment was using his brains
for its own benefit, and ut the same time
forestalling him in the market by OBJ
tanning copies of his telegraph1c orders
by bribing the operator. He at once
wrote privately to his agents always to
act exactly contrary to his orders, and
went to work using his brains at once for
his own benefit and the injury of the
evil-dooer He not only got the benefit
of his own foresight and tact, but was
obtaining a poetical revenge upon his
tival, and in three months had him iii
rhe Court of Bankruptcy, while his own
concern went on prosperously.
A NICE PLACE. The Yarmouth Mass.
town house has been closed since the
last annual town meeting. On opening
it the other day it was found that SPUR
rel and her five young ones had taken
possession of the ballot-box The moth
er had made nice nest among the bal
lots cast for selectmen and other town of
ticers. The nest and young were remov-
ed, but when the town meeting was dis
solved, the nest and young squirrels were
restored to the possession of the ballot
box, and the town house locked up.