The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1879-12-18
Elephants and Their Ways.

{ Elephant hunting naturally takes a
prominent place in Col. Pollock S pages.
He gives some good stories, which gem
orally relate to the prowess and hair
breadth escapes Of his friends and broth
er officers in following the noble; game.
He says that the Asiatic elephants should
be divided into two classes-the Coon
das, those that have large tlsks, and
the Mucknahs, or those that. have none,
or only rudimentary ones the two kinds
seldom herding together, aad having pc
culiarities of formation which render
them very distinct, although they do not
seem to have been noticed by other
writer's. The mucknah is usually taller
and more bulky. than the tusker, and
has a longer and very ponderods trunk.
While seine animals of this kind are abb
solutely without tusks, most of them
have short, sharp ones, growing down.
wards, like those of the walrus, with
which they can infiict most formidable
blows. Col. Pollock seems to have been
greatly impressed with the sagacity of
the elephant in its wild state, particularly
that displayed in its choice Of camping
and feeling grounds, which are often
surrounded ON three sides by a tortnous
river impossible to ordinary morta1s,
the fourth being protected by tangled
thicket or quagmire. . L have been an
hour or more,'' he says, 80 trying to
penetrate into one of their, fastnesses,
where twenty or thirty elephants were
congregateda within q space nowhere
more than 400 yards square but SO we'll
were all the apprp aches protected that
at last, when did succeed in crossing
oyer, at the risk of either being swept
away by the 1orceg Of thege geurrent C9r
drowned in its deep bed or begged in
the quagmires, the noise we made was
sufficient to awaken the Seven Sleep
ers, to say nothing of disturbing
herd of elephants, and had the
pleasure of seeing them make their
exit one way as ! entered on the oppo-
site side; and once more the animals
were on the move, such was the intricate
nature of the country ithwas useless,
indeed impossible, to follow wthemi'' The
Burmese and Assamese, it seems, laugh
at the European for firing only for the
brain of an elephant, as they aim with
considerable success at the point of the
shoulder, which is one Of its five v,ilner-
able points. 1t is as amusing to find
that there is much rascality practiced
about the sale of tame elephant as
about that of a horse, the vicious one
being drugged and sold as docile, the,
sleepy one frightened by the use of GIN.
ger or brandy, and the useless brute,
that never carries flesh, fed up for the
time1 with massalahs and sugaracaIe.
The person accustomed to, elephants is.
perfectly able to Judge of their state of
mind by the peculiar noises they utter;
the sort of whistling from the trunk de-
notes satisfaction, trumpeting is q sign
of rage, the. striking the. trunk on the
ground with a apitiful cry shows alarm,
and kind of rgruntI is used to express
impatience or dissatisfaction. Col. Pol
lock gives 4 good deal OF information as
to the various ways of catching and
training them, and he rather defends the
mahouts from the many sins alleged
against them, saying they are, as rule,
a plneky and not bad class of men,
easily managed if treated with kindness,
and firmness. The trip. up the Irri-
waddie to Pagan Myo, Ava, Umrapoo-
Tdl, anu ManQdldy Is sOlle VI thc ulOSI
interesting portions of Col. Pollock's
book. On this occasion he saw the
white elephant, although he was not
clad in his state rappings, covered with
magnificent precious stones, "any one
of which is worth fortune." The
animal stood about ten and a half feet
high, was handsomely made, and had
tusks seven feet long, which, as they all
but touch the ground, required to be
slightly shortened each year.--L London
Spectator assm :, . :. .,,s'''"a fefs i'ise oI
4Dr.i Holland of Scribner's sMontt1g
has, turned his attention to popular
amasernei1ts, and his lopera (crA rather