The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1880-10-20
MISCELLANY.
ExEpHAETs AND THEIR WAYS.

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Twice around an elephants fore-f foot gives
his height to within an Inch or two. AS to
their age, looking TO their dentition and other
circumstances, Mr.. Sanderson thinks it by no
means improbable that elephants live to $50
or 200 years. No one has ever apparently,
seen the remains Of a dead elephant, and this
circumstance Is so marked as to have given
rise 70 the belief among some wild tribes that
wild elephants never die whilst others be-
lieve that there is place unseen by human
eye to which they retire to end their days.
In Mr.. Sanderson's wanderings for years
through elephant jungles he has not only
never seen the remains of an elephant that
had died a natural death, but he has never met
one among the jungle tribes or professional
hunters who had The Ciugaese have a SUI
I.perstition that on feeling the approach of dis
solution the elephant retres to solitary VAL
ley and there resigns himself to death. There
is similar belief in India, but Mr.. Sander
son shows that 1t is untenable. One would
not expect to hear that elephants are expert
swimmers, though they can 10 more jump a
trench eight feet wide than they can dance o
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 sometimes swim six Consecutive hours
without touching the bottom. Mr.. Sander
son has seen an elephant swim a river 300
yards wide with his hind legs tied together.
They are sometimes drowned apparently by
being attacked with cramps or with fit
| The belief that wild elephants have de-
creased in India Is shown by Mr.. Sanderson
to be incorrect. The records of the past fifty
years show that there Is no diminution ii the
numbers now obtainable in Bengal whilst in
Southern India elephants have become 50 nu-
merous of late years that they are annually
appearing In places where they have never
been heard of before. In fact, Mr.. Sanderson
thinks that unless something be done, the
rifle will have to be used to protect the ryots
of tracts bordering upon the elephant junges.
To give an idea of the immense numbers OF
wild elephants Ia some parts of India, the
lecturer stated that during the past three
year SOB elephants have been captured by the
Dacca Kilieeddah establishment in a tract of
country 40 miles long and &c broad in the
Caro- hills, while no less than 1000 were met
with during the hunting operations. The
lecturer gave graphic description Of the diff
fereut modes of capturing and training the
wild elephant. Here is brief extract
! "When an elephant chases the men they
betake themselves to the shelter of tree
trunks, bamboo clumps or long grass. and II
is astonishing to see how they frequently es-
cape unipjured. have known many cases Of
men standing against tree or hiding in tufts
of long grass within couple Of yards of ele-
plants that were pausing in indecision, with
out being discovered, though the elephants
were evidently aware of their close proximity,
as they kicked up the ground in anger and
then made off. In such cases the slightest
movement would have led to the hunters be-
ing instantly trampled to death. Men are
frequently killed, of course, but they are al
most always young men who are learning.
saw one such make narrow escape few
months ago. He ran from an elephant and
climbed a tree the elephant butted the trunk
and the man fell down, but his pursuer wal
SO astonished at the sight that she fed al
once. Sometimes drives are conducted by
torchlight, and these seldom fail, owing tt
the elephants fear OF fire. The scenes OF
these occasions are exciting beyond descrip-
tion."