The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1875-12-18

I brow with a shock which rattles far anC
l near. The prince was introduced to GER
: tain of these combats, and saw, besides
the curious duel of rhinoceroses W. ere
despite their unwieldy bulk and awk.
, ward weapons, there is really almost al
, much science displayed as Captain Burton
/ has elaborated in his recent wonderful
treatise on sword play, with all its deadly
r mysteries of mOu'inette and the like These
, cunning behemoths fence and foin to get
the advantage of the telling thrust under
> the Jaw with their horn; and over and
over again they will close and press and
butt one another back ward and forward in
clouds of dust, sDorting and grunting and
champing foam, while the attendants re-
fresh them with copious chattles of water,
neither obtaining the fatal opportunity.
BY and by one of the two combatants
grows weary, allowing his monstrous jowls
to be thrust sideways or upward; and im-
medlately, with marvellous celebrity the
successful beast drives his armed snout
under the jaw Of his adversary, producing
a wound which is acknowledged with a
frIghtful squeal and an lnglpTI retreat
on the part Of the vauquished monster.
For the elephant tight proper the con
tending pairs are carefully trained and
prepared beforehand with stimulating food
and drugs, and advantage is taken of that
periodical frenzy displayed in the male
elephant, which is known as must At
such time of natural excitement the ele-
phant becomes fierce and formidable even
to hIs keeper, and only to lead two such
| beasts forth INTO the arena, and show them
/ the waving trunk Of the distant female,
| produces degree Of pugnaciry which
wants little additional encouragement Ii
was one Of the favorite pleasures Of the
unfeellng Roman populace To watch ele-
! phant fights IN the amphitheatre. Angus
tus, who gave the people four hundred
and thirty panthers, and P"mpey, who
let loose SIX hundred lions into the arena,
were thought to be outdone by Tralan
when he produced twenty elephants III
st tie Of must, and pitted them in deadly
contest against six hundred Getuiian cap
tives That was one elephant to thirty
men nor would the odds seem dlspropor.
tionate to those who have witnessed the
Indian htttti in his wrath, trumpeting out
blasts of rage and defiance from the uplift-
ed trunk, straItenIng his tail, dropping
his great underhung pointed lip to give
fair play to his ivory bayonets, and his lit
tie eyes glaring all the while like freballs
from the shadow of the huge ears. Yet
there are mahouts who will sit on their
necks and push in the thickest of the fight
brutes even mad as thls-digging their
nape, this side aud that, with the cHkus or
hook, though hardly more secure than
would be the captains Of two ironclads COM
ing into collision, with their eightY-ton can
non discharglng, if they perched them
selves upon the bowsprlt ends. But only
thebest trained animals would be trusted
thus to respect man amid their widest
rage; ordinary fighting elephants cannot
be ridden u the combat; the mahouts ex
cite and cheer them, and then slip off be-
fore the encounter begins. When 1t does
begin, such as can look with pleasure on
these things, behold a colossal duello. The
enormous creatures charge like mountains
rolling together, their tusks clash and
catter, their huge feet deve chasms in
the dust, and scatter IT in clouds; and they
rear up their hind legs and wrestle for
mastery with an agility as astonishing as
it is senseless fury The trunk, ear and
flank are the weak places, as the wise
beast well knows, and what with each
keeping his own clear, and seeking to
seize that of his opponent, so that he may
force him aside and drive an ivory sword |
tip under the elbow or hook, or wiring off
his leathern ear, one and the other pro-
boscis fly about together In the air like
arms Of an lnfuriated windmill. Shnll
signals of fear or rage, of victory or defeat
accompany the rounds, for the wrathtul
elephant blows his own battle music con
tinually, and screams with tremendous
anxiety when he is getting the worst Of It.
Presently some advantage Is gained, and
a blow or dig which would annIhllate any
thing but Leviathan is dealt whererpon,
ordinarily, the sagaclous brute who has
fought in vain knows that he Is defeated.
and quite declines to stand up to any
needless punishment. He turns tail and
trots off ungalnIy and discounted, covered
with dust and blood and pursued little
while by the victor, who soon, however,
is content to trumpet out an insulting
blast and range the arena for another foe.
1t wants considerable skill at such mo-
ment to slip the foot-ropes on the triumph
ant monster and get him out Of the way;
but this is managed by the adrolt mahouts,
either by cunning approaches or bv bring
ing in couple Of females. Sometimes
weak elephant is forced to the earth, and
| SDTct OI 50 lndl ne ulcb. DuA eCli-
orally they live to fight another day,
provided that the tusks have not been tt-
ted with steel points, which IS occasionally
pract. C d.
Such scenes, however. cannot be az
plauded, and we may at least feel certain
that, in presence of an EuglIsh Prince who
Is a true sportsman, the more barbarUus
accom- mpanIments which have often been
described AS d sgracIng the practices 81
the Bar rda court will not be cOuutenauced.
Elephant lights are the least objectionable,
for the sagaclty Of the anlmat refuses to
be forced beyond a certain point Of com
bativeness although training does wonders
even upon these wise beasts. The Brah-
minis relate that at the taking OF BenAres,
| when 800 elephants we're presented to
Mohammed, and all knelt down to the
emperor at a signal, the white leader Of
the troup-educared to nate the Mosllm
refused to kneel, killed Its mahout who
sought to enforce the command, and vas
put to death standing. That, Of course, IS
fable, and fabulous too, no doubt, is the
very pretty story told of Mahmoud Of
Ghizni, how that hunting one day on his
elephant the attendants captured fawn.
Saws the historian. The prince was con-
veying away his prize, when he observed
the dam following the huge beast, and
showing evident marks of affection far
stronger than her natural fear. MahmOud
was touched with compassion, and releas-
ed his captive, pleasing himself with the
gratitude Of the mother. That night the
prophet appeared to him in dream, and,
telling him God had given him kingdom
as a reward for his humanity, enlolned
him never to forget his feelings Of mercy
when he came to the exercise Of power.
There is prlncelier favor in that little
elephant story than in the spectacle OF such
contests as we have briefly described, and
his royal highness will have done service