St. Landry democrat., 1884-11-29


Here are some logs being adjusted on
the wharf-slope. Note the ease with
which the elephant pushes each into its
place with, apparently, the slightest
movement of trunk or foot. Mark this
one, which, by greater than necessary
exercise of force, has become tilted up
against its fellow. The elephant has
noted it, too, and half-kneeling, and
getting his tusks under it, he pulls the
LOG backwards a little, and it drops
square with its fellow. What dictated
that action? Mathematical order and
precision belong to the bee, and are
said to be instinctiyely implanted in
that humble animal; but could there
have been anything in this elephants
antecedents to have prepared it for re-
arranging dislocated log? Surely the
impulse seized it at the moment, and
must have been due to a sense of order
or tidiness implying the presence of
reason. Odd lengths of log, varying
from four to six feet, are carried about
the yard by elephants, a species of work
which is distasteful to them, as exhibit
ING their awkward points. Indeed,
they evidently feel degraded by it, for
they set to work with an air of resigna-
ton quite foreign to their shifting or
dragging feats. There they rejoice in
their great strength, and are fond of
exhibiting it. Here, little strength is
needed; but the operations involve
roughish treatment of the nose, and we
know that all animals, including man,
are very particular as to how their noses
are handled.
The elephant is proud of his strength,
but sensitive with regard to his trunk,
especially when that delicate organ is
brought to bear upon any rough work;
and as the securing of log between
the trunk and tusks necessitates a large
amount of awkward movement, I
noticed that the selected elephant APP
preached the job with reluctance. Re-
Signed to his fate, he half-kneels before
the odious object, and gets the points Of
his tusks under it; then he Wriggles it
up the ivory tramway with his trunk,
and secures it Herewith in stu. His
troubles now commence; for on rising
to his feet, the hateful log, obeyipg the
laws of gravity, at once tends to drop;
and to obviate this, the poor brute has
to raise his head ON high. Thus con-
strained, he commences his march with
slow stateliness, as if to make the best
of a bad job, and not let the world at
large know that he is virtually walking
blind-fold And so he is; for the eleVa-
ton of his head upsets the axis of his
vision, and he has to walk more by
touch than by sight.
/ have thus attempted to describe the
main duties which elephants have to
discharge in the timber-yards, and !
have mentioned that they are guided by
the voice, stick, or heels of the mahout
Watching them from shipboard, you are
quite close enough to note every move
ment of the animal, but not sufficiently
near to catch the signal, so that the
elephantine actions seem purely auto
matte, and 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 astonished at the thorough
manner in which he understands what
he is expected to do, and the very little
prompting he requires.
On one occasion, arranged with a
mahout to bring up his elephant to
where was standing, that might in
dictate the work to be done, the mahout
to be absolutely silent. Standing by a
six-foot log, beckoped to the mahout,
and up came the elephant. Arriving at
the spot, and being without chains, he
must have opined that dragging was
not intended. There remained, then,
pushing or carrying, the latter opera
ton being the one which the sagacious
creature saw was intended, for he pro-
.ceeded at once with his awkward prep
arations for carrying it away. Through
out this test the mahout was absolutely
silent, and, as far as [ could see, quite
passive. The result of it was that the
elephant OWNED what /, stranger,
wished him to do, and did it.
On another occasion, applied the
test to difficult object, an eighteen-inch
cube of teak, which the dear old fellow
at once arranged to carry off; but how
to do it he could not at first determine.
AS his tusks diverged more than eight
eea ifFefes, they were no support, and
the many sharp corners of the cube
sorely tried the delicate trunk. After
some failures, he managed to seize the
fragment by the center, and then raise
it up below the tusks against his lower
lip. As he had virtually accomplished
the task, discontinued the experiment,
expressing my satisfaction and delight
to the manager, who somewhat damped
my ardor BY informing me that the
mahout, while abstaining from use of
voice or stick, might have conveyed his
wishes to the elephant by pressure with
his heels!
But moments reflection increased
my admiration st the elephants intelli-
gence, for, allowing that the mahout's