St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1888-02-04
An ELEPHANT STORY.


An ELEPHANT STORY.
a Singular sight E.JeysA Fr.~ u. P,,.c,
st Masaalsy.
Many were the sights I witnessed in
and out OF the Palace At Mandalav: but
nothing struck my attention 80 much
As the number Of trained elephants,
lately belonging to the deposed mon
arch. and the splendid quarters in
which they were located. and my sur
prise was still more increased when I
was introduced to. and entered into
conversation with the gentleman who
presided over this extensive establish
ment- He turned out to bc a real
native Of the Isle Of Wight. The white
or nouse-colorcd elephant was there.
OF course; but chow are the mighty
fallcn! He was no longer in mag
nihccnt pavilion, alone in his grandeur.
surrounded by many servitors of the
king; on the contrary. he was in 4
stall like the rest of the beasts. and. II
any thing. less noticed than many of
ms finer brethren. One more anecdote
about this wonderful beast, and have
done with elephants. Shortly before
our arrival, one Of these animals had
greatly disgraced himself by refusing to
carry certain weight Of goods which
had been piled on his back. There is
the regulation weight. and the beasts
know to an ounce what they ought To
carry. and If any Ut the mahouts at
tempt to put surplus amount on his or
their backs. it is Immediately shot onto
the ground. The animal in question
had been duly laden with a weight
which was Under the regulation scale;
but although it had been twice weighed.
as Mrs. Camp would say. before his
own eyes. he still refused to carry it.
This was too much for even his indul.
gent driver. SO he accordingly re-
ported. and just rs we arrived he was
about to be tried for his extraordinary
and obstinate conduct. Several e!.-
plants were led out into a large court
yard. forming kind Of circle around
the delinquent, who seemed already to
feel his position acutcly. for he glanced
anNiously from time To time ut his
mahout. who was visibly affected and
who stood by his heal. A karen pre-
sided over the court martial. and real
aloud the indictment against the
offender. the elephants which cons,i-
tuted the jury apparently listenin;
with great attention. After the state
ment was finished and the mahout
examined. who by the way. gave hi;
evidence with great reluctance. the
karen decided that the case had been
distinctly proved. and the culprit was
adjudged the punishment of twenty
strokes. Upon the announcement of the
verdict. the jury marched in most SOL
cmn manner TO adistant part of the yard |
and returned with switch about -
large a. fair sized scaffold pole. In
the meantime the mahout had been adj
the offender. who was now
weeping copiously. large drops of tears
falling from his eyes. and occasionally
= shrill and peculiar sound issued from
his capacious throat The executioners
If the law were at hand. and stood |
about twelve 10 fourteen feet apart, each |
balancing with peculiar nicely in his
trunk the aforesaid switch. The cu,-
prit was led up ~ the place. and as he
passed. number one there was sound |
which rescmbled somewhat q sharp
clap Of thundc; it was the first blow
delivered by the dread myrmidons Of
the law. The blow was followed BY y
sharp shrill scream. although there
was evidently an attempt on the part
Of the culprit to suppress any exhibi-
ton Of pain. This punishment con-
tinucd until the whole of the sentence
had been carried out: Although 1 felt
sympathy with the unfor-
tunatc delinquent. was at the same
time intensely amused with the thor
nugh bu>iness-like air with which these
ministers If justice carried out the sen.
Icnce. There were no light blows de-
livered; but as matter Of fact, each
elephant determined to administer a
heavier amount Of punishment than his
ncighbor. and the sly twinkle in the
Eye rs the blow was delivered was =
sight to see.-PriMrose Magazine.