Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1880-10-14
QUEER NOTES ON ELEPHANTS.
Some Odd facts About These Huge Animals.
London Globe.

London Globe.l
Twice round an elephants forefoot
gives his height to within an inch or two.
AS regards age, looking to their peculiar
dentition and other circumstances, Mr..
Sanderson thinks it by no means i'm
probable that elephants live to one hun
dred and fifty or two hundred years. No
one, has ever, apparently, seen the re-
mains of dead elephant, and this cir
cumstance is so marked as to have given
rise to the belief among some wild tribes
that wild elephants never die, while 9TH
ers believe that there is place unseen
by human eye to which they retire and
end their DAYS. In Mr.. Sanderson's wan
derings for years through elephant jun
giles he has not only never seen the re-
mains OF an elephant who had died a
natural death, but he has never met any
ono amor the junglei tribes or profess
sional hunters who had. The Cingalese
have superstition that on feeling the
approach of dissolution the elephant re-
tires to solitary valley and there resigns
himself to death. There is similar be-
lief IN India, but Mr.. Sanderson shows
that 1t Is untenable. One would not ex-
0ect to hear that elephants are expert
swimmers, though they can no more
jump fence eight feet wide than they
can dance hornpipe. Such, however,
seems to be the case from the fact that
large numbers of them are annually sent
across the tideway of the Ganges between
Dacca and Barrackpore, and are some
times six consecutive hours without
touching the bottom. Mr.. Sandcrson
has seen an elephant swim a river three
hundred yards wide with his hind legs
tied together. They are SON etimes
drowned, apparently by being attacked
with cramps or with fit.
The belief that wild elephants have
decreased in India is shown by Mr.. San
derson to be incorrect. The records of
the past fifty years show there is no di-
mlnutlon IL the numbers obtainaule in
Bengal, while in Southern India ele-
phants have become so numerous of late
years that they are annually appearing
in places where they have never peen
heard OF before. In fact, Mr.. SandersOn
thinks that unless something is done the
rifle will have to be used to protect the
ryots of tracts bordering upon elephant
iungles. To give an idea of the number
of wild elephants in some parts of India
the lecturer stated that during the past
three years 503 elephants have been cap
tured by the Decca Kheddah establish
ment in tract of country forty miles
long by twenty broad in the Caro- Hills,
while not less than 1000 were met wisl
during the hunting operations. The lec-
turer gave graphic description of the
different modes of capturing and train
ing the elephant. Here is an extract.
'When an elephant chases the men they
betake themselves to the shelter of tree
trunks, bamboo clumps, or long grass,
and it is astonishing to see how they fire.
quently escape un!pjured. have known
many cases of men standing against
tree or hiding in tufts OF grass within
a couple of yards oc elephants that were
pausing in indecision without being dis
covered, though the elephants were evil
IDENTIFY aware of their close proximity, as
they kicked up the ground in anger and
made off. In such cases the slightest
movement would have led to the hun
tiers being instantly trampled to death,
Men are frequently killed of course, but
they are almost always young hands vino
are learning. I saw one make q narrow
escape few months ago. He ran from
an elephant and climbed tree; the ele-
phant butted the trunk and the man fell
down; but his pursuer was so astonlshed
at the sight that she fed at once. Some
times drives are connected by torchlight
and these seldom fail, owing to the ele-
plants fear of fire. The scenes on these
occasions are exciting beyond descrip-
ton"