The Washington critic., 1888-03-31
ELEPHANTS AT WORK.
How the Huge Beasts are EGectivel!
utilized in India


utilized in India.
Ex Mayor Harrison In the chicago Mail.
Early the next day, while yet cool,
we visited one Of the decided Lions"
of the city-the working elephants.
Formerly these were very numerous,
being the heavy workers in the tim
Der yards and great saw-mills. Ma
chinery has now supplanted them in
all establishments run by foreigners.
III each of the native mills, where
small orders are filled, two of the
noble beasts yet perform the heavy
labor which human hands, unassisted,
could scarcely manage.
We visited some Of these the second
time on our return from mp the
country, and were greatly interested,
They draw the logs, many Of them
three feet in diameter and thirty to
forty feet long, from the river, pile
them up in systematic order, and
when they are needed roll them to the
ways and assist in adjusting them for
the saw. Lumber is not here sawed in
to boards, but the slab is taken off and
the good stuff left in square timber to
be ripped up into boards where con-
sumcd. This is done both for home
consumption and for expectation.
After the log is thus cut the elephant
goes among the machinery, takes the
slabs away, and then carries the good
timber and piles it up or lays itgcntly
upon the uX-carts TO Uc hauled of.
A carpenter we saw wanted lumber
from particular log which was
under several others. One of the
monsters rolled the upper logs off and
pushed the chosen stick to the mill.
The way was not clear-the log butted
against others. He pushed them
aside and guided his piece through
them with sagacity almost human.
His stick became wedged. He
pushed and tugged; it would not
budge but at a whispered word from
the mahout and the promise of bit
of nice food he bent TO il. Still it
stuck. With a whistle audible for II
quarter of a mile he got on his knees,
straightened out his hind legs and put
his whole force to it. lie was sue
cessful. We could almost read his
satisfaction in the gentle flap of his
huge ears and the graceful curve of
his proboscis as he put it up To the
mounted mahout, asking his reward.
Sticks over two feet thick and ten
to fifteen feet long are lifted up bod
lily upon the great worries and are
then carried off and laid upon the
gangways so gently as not to make a
jar. One stick twenty-five inches
thick and twenty-five feet long we
saw carried in this way. In carrying
this the beast had path not three
feet wide among masses of loose logs.
He has to plant his fore feet upon
these and thus walk considerable
distance. He looked as if he were
walking on his hind legs. The corner
of bamboo hut stood in his way.
He lifted the log over its roof and
bent his body so that his sides gently
sCraped the corner of the house and
did not shake it. A hundredth part
of his weight would have caused it to
topple from its pile foundation.
He was ordered to carry off pile
of four by six pieces ten to fifteen feet
I long. He ran his tusks under few
The mahout told him that was not
enough. He tried again and probably
doubled his load. His driver gave
him fierce prod with his iron hook
1 ONtl VIC W iNll a. olll iCh VI
rage he sent his worries under the pile
and threw his snout over the top. He
had TO get on his knees to get the load
up. 1T was a decent dray-load. As
he passed us, pcrched ON pile OF
logs, ! moved away, for ] thought
there was blood in his eye and
that he might dump the load on
the foreigners But when he came
back he stopped before us, got on his
knees, bowed three times and held
out his snout 10 us for gratuity.
pitched coin to the mahout He
whispered to the beast that his ele
phantship would get part of it
This seemed satisfactory, for he
smiled up a pint of dust, blew it over
his rump and marched off for a batl
in mud hole not far away. Each
mill had pair. They work only il
! short spells, and take their rest wher
4 feeding in grass-groWn mud ponds,