The Panola weekly star. (Sardis, Miss.) 1882-18??, 1884-11-29

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1ho elephant prpui II hs sifangih,
bot sensitive vim frgsnl " hs uunk,
fhon ilai daiioas efgsH "a
brought ip lHHf np0n aHg rough w0fk.
and ihH lfNudng " . luR hstwean
tha innh nnd iutkt neeeasiiaiea d large
hmlunt " nwswafd Increment,
n4f'rri ihai iha selected elephant ~.
preached iho JOB viii feluotauee lle-
gnrd ~ h.i faia. be- hilfkneela before
tho oil0ul ohjeol. and gcla The points "
Die tufk4 undpf \ then be- wngales u
Hp ilo ivory ifnmwny with hh trunk,
md secures u herewith ~ ats. Ills
troubles now cDpmunce f0r on rising
lo hlg foot, the hateful log, olcying tho
laws " gravity NJ once tends to drops
tnd 70 ubyInlo thls The poor bfnts hae
10 raise hls head vi high Thus con-
strained, ho commences lila march with
slow stnlcllncsa, % II 10 make the best
" n bnd Job, and not let the world nj
large know that ho u virtually wrlklng
hlind.fold And 80 he Vi for tio eleys-
ton uf hii head upscts the axis Of hs
vision, and he has 10 walk more by
touch than by sight
! have thus attempted 10 describe the
main duties which elephants have 10
discharge In the tlmber-yards, and /
have mentioned that they arc guided by
the voice, stick, or heels of the mahout.
Watching them from shipbonrd, you are
quito close enough 10 note every move
mcnt of the animal, but not sufficiently
near 10 catch the signal, so that the
elcphantino actions seem purely auto
matte, aud therefore the more astonish-
ing. But when You are alongside the
animal and can see and hear the simple
signals under which he works, you
are equally aslonished at the thorough
manner In which he understands what
hc is expected TO do, and tho very little
prompting he requires.
On one occasion, | arranged with
mahout 70 bring up his elephant 10
whore was standing, that might In
dicalo the work to be- done. the mahout
to bc absolutely silent Standing by q
siN-loot log, bcckoned TO the mahout,
and up came the elephant Arriving at
the spot and being without chains, he
must have opincd that dragging was
not intended There remained, then,
pushing or carrying. the latter opera
ton being the ono which the sagacious
creature saw was intended. for he pro-
cccdcd at once with his awkward prep
arationS for carrying Il away Through
ont this test the mahout was absolutely
silent, and. ~ far Ms could see, quito
passive. The result Of II was that the
elephant OWNED what I, o stranger.
wished him 10 do, and did It.
On another occasion, applied the
test 10 dillicultoblect, an eightcen-lnch
cube Of teak, which the dear old fellow
at once arranged 10 carry off; but how
TO do II he could sSt at first determine
AS his tusks diyaged more than eight
cen inches, they were no support, and
the many sharp corners Of tho cube
sorely tried the delicate trunk. After
some failures. he managed TO seize tho
fragment by tho center, and then raise
II up below the tusks against his lower
lip. As he had virtually accomplished
the task, Discontinued the experiment,
expressing my satisfaction and delight
10 the manager. who somewhat damped
my ardor by informing me that the
mahout, whllo abstainlng from nse Of
voice u stick, might have conveyed his
wishes TO the elephant by pressure with
bis hcelsl
But moments reflection increased
my admiration at the elephants intalli-
gonce, for, allowing that the mahout's
heels had pressed his side, how could
such pressure inform him that he was
} neither 10 drag nor push, but carry7
Surely the mahout could not have pos
sesscd code Of pressure-signals with
which he had indoctrinated the elephant
In prospect OF curious visitors. II he
had, then Il must have included voice
and stick-slgnaling as well, TO either Of
which ! might have rcsorted. No; / be-
licye that the elephant acted inde-
! pendcntly Of signals, and reasoned on
what he had to DO, by what was laid be-
fore him.
Hitherto. we have seen the elephant
I In the yard; let us follow him into tho
: mill. and there admire the triumph Of
} reason over instinct. We all know how
naturally timid and neryohs the cle-
phant Is. and how susceptible 10 noise.
Well. watch this noble old fellow
solemDly dragging In huge log to the
, saw-mill. Onward he moves, undis-
mayed by the horrid painting Of the en-
gine or the screcching Of the saws. In
stinct would have tempted him 10 turn
| tail and flee from the noisy turmoil;
reason keeps him nj his task, confident
I that amid The uproar and apparent con-
, fusion. perfect order and safety prevail.
And so. with tapping ears and swaying
, trunk. he yields up his log to the grip
of the remorseless saw. and goes on un-
> concerned to find q fresh victim. II
I was very pleasing 10 see that the Aga's
elephants were kindly treated and well
: cared for the goading ankns (iron
9 hook and prod) was nowhere TO bs
seen. A daily as well as rigidly OBJ
. served weekly rest was secured 10 them
! besides, their cleanliness Is well
a looked after; and morning and evening
) they are taken Into the river to be well
= scrubbed. the termination Of each bath
D being a triple dive, which they enjoy
e immensely.
= On second visit 10 Moulmeln.
Y noticed another totally different Illus.
: tration Of coniiding reason in the ele.
/, phant We were 1T anchor In the rivcI
j. IN strongly flowing tide. when a deepl,
: sunk raft with green forage. two meI
J. and two elephants swept swiftly past
4 Tho elephants stood molionless ans
d quite unconccrned, knowing that the,
: were under secure pIlotage. and quit
safe as long a. they remained quiet.
n they had proved restless. the raft mus
b have come 10 grief. - Chambers yoarnai
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