The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1878-09-17
ELEPHANTS.
A Writer Who Upssts Some OF the
Popular Opinions Concerning
Them.

In his book, Thirteen ears
Among the Wild Beasts Vi India,
Mr.. j. Z. Sandersun deals ut outsider
able length with the subject of ele-
pi,ant. MANY vi his statements sbOui
the Indian elephant will he found 70
differ from the opinions cOmmonl!
held, and also from the interesting
descriptions Of the animals published
Oy or EsIersUu Tcuient. IhlS OO0k
Mr.. Sanderson observes, has removed
some Of the gr,ssest misapprehensions
regarding the elephant. but lit Is full
IF the errors which are unavoidable
when u man writes On subject with
which he has had no practical acqaint-
ance," and in many places theory and
fancy are said u be substituted for
fact. Thus, for instance, Sir Emerson
Tennent tells . story Of an elephant
that leaped over . harricade fifteen
feet high. whereas the animal cannot
take its four feet of the ground ut the
same moment, and can neither canter.
yallOp, nor trot. And, According 10
Mr. sanderson, the elephent Is in
many respects q stupid animal. Its
chief virtues, be says. are obedience,
gentleness, and patience. But this
sentleness may surely be regarded. ON
the writer's own showing, as sign Of
intelligence. The most intelligent Of
horses" he writes. cannot be depend
ed ON not to tread on its masters toes.
AMI, If terrified, make 10 hesitation in
dasl,ing away, even should he upset
any one in - doing. But elephants.
even huge tuskers whose heads are
nigh in The air. and whose keepers are
mere pigmies beside them. are 80 eau
tious that accidents very seldom occur
through carelessness on their part"
Elephants travel in herds and in
strict Indian file. When q calf Is born
the herd remains with the mother two
DAYS, the calf is then able To travel,
and can cross rivers with the assistance
Of it's dam. Elephants are said To
swim better than any other lacc.
animals, and Nc. S~;Hlerson relates
that batch Of seventy nine which he
sent from Dscca to Barrackpur had
the Ganges and several Of its large
tidal branches to cross. In the longest
swim they were six hours without
touching bottom. After resting on
the sand bank, they completed the
swim in shree more. Not one wss
lest. Mr.. Sanderson observes that
remains Of an elephant that had died
a natural death are scarcely ever met |
with. He has never seen such re-
mains himself. and never met anyone !
amongst the jungle tribes Or profes-
sionai elephant hunters VINO had done
80 except at the time when murraip
visited the forests. bones" he writes |
would not decay for some years, and
teeth and tusks would survive for
some time; vet not . single pair Of
worries has ever. ~ far - know. been
Iound in the Mvsore jangles - long as
have known them" The writer can
rive no explanation Of this fact. .
How long the Wild elephant lives IL
nncertais bat Mr.. Sanderson thinks
{ attains to NJ least l5O years. Much
is current with regard to
he animals height; the largest seen
oy the writer measured nine feet ten
inches ut the shoulder, and yet these
ssve been stories Of Indian elephants Z
measuring seventeen TO twenty feet :
high. Tvioe round m elephants foot
. Ssid 70 b bic height. and generally Il
bic measurement u exact. The price
# elepbsnts hes enormously increased :
Il hate years: bpt the Govsrnmentl
Iheddahs, or elephsut-catching estab
enable our govefnment to
,bt.in god animals at reasonable |;
~. An elephant, re srs told, which
,osr the Government E40 to caplurt,
soald cut Il Isast fl60 il ,ihs nar,
Isk.- y. co. .0a.isS - sllJo.sa rirofd)
The di@culties Of elePhanteatching