The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1880-06-09
TRICK ELEPHANTS.
How They are Trained.

Of training African elephants ir
Alexandra Park, near London
"The juniorest' elephant is Sc
lected to have his lesson first, and
comes singing down to the ring
in his heavy trot; the occasion is
quite private one, but there's d
Nubian looking on, who has
learned the English method of
applauding, and he softly clasps his
black palms together as the pupil
entangles himself in his rope TO
begin with, and feels up Mr.. Fe-
lix's sleeve for consolation in the
shape Of carrots. He does not get
them at this stage of the proceed
ings, but he knows they are CON-
ing, and it is very funny to OBJ
serve him in the midst OF his les
son, twitching his trunk in some
new direction, which it suddenly
occurs to him to explore, and then
he resumes his studies as if he had
not had 3 momentary stlaction.
He weighs seven hundred
weight at present, and if be can on
ly be kept from injurious food and
inhammatory diseases will grow
to ten feet high, it is expected,
and furnish 2 remarkable refuta-
ton Of the general notion that
African elephants cannot be high
ly trained. They are not, indeed,
equal to the Indian elephants in
intelligence one has only to look
at their 'brain-box' to see that !;
but the four little elephants, all
newly come into Mr.. Felix's
hands, are making rapid progress
under the system Of kindness,
patience, praise, reward and no
knocking about Come, my ba-
byp That's a fine boyr 'Ah,
brave, bravo; you are beauty !
Fine boy! beautiful boy Such
are the phrases, perpetual!y re-
peated, which encourage the big
little scholar as he climbs on a
wooden pedestal, lifts one clumsy
leg after another, admonished by
a gentle tap Of his teachers stick
never used to hurt or frighten
him-or turns his lum bering body
in the valse which, when be is
perfect in the accomplishment,
will be hailed with peculiar de-
light by the public.
The valse is a performance
which the little elephants learn
very readily. They are at first
held by one huge, Tapping ear,
and turned by the teacher, whose
steps they follow-the movement
comes easily to them after two
or three lessons, they need only
to have the stick held on the
side from which they are to turn !;
a few more, and the wave Of the
teachers hand in the required d.
rection is enough. Three of Mr.
Felix's pupils are as yet not suff-
GENTLY ADVANCED to appearin pub
lie; it was most interesting to
see how they took in the
idea of whaS was required of
them, and to hear him praise
them when they succeeded in do
ing what he indicated. He never
lets them be tired and observes
them so closely that when the
clever little black elephant was
coming on finely in the art of
rolling q barrel with his fore feet
it was delightful to see his sat
isfaction when be discerned what
be was to do, and that his hind
feet were to be kept clear of the
harrel-Mr. Felix stopped the les
son at onco on seeing him begin
to tremble.
Good marks in the circus school
translate themselves into Jumps
of sugar and chunks of carrots,
and bad ones into derislVe OBJ
servations about the seIf-respect
which the idle pupil ought to feel,
but doesn't. One Of Mr.. Felix's
pupils is still very timid. He was
scared and i'll during the voyage
to this uncongenial cline; and at
first he would not lot any one ap-
proaoh him but be is a promising
youngster now, and lends his
bark. like neck to q friendly
scratch with much Habllity. On
none Of these animals is to be
seen a scar or a prod the no
knocking about system is to be
traced in their bodies and in their
manners, and they look for their
rev ards-addl essed 10 their stom-
achs-With cheerful confidence.