Sharp County record., 1888-08-23
WHITE ELEPHANTS.
Rare Beasts That Are Kept as Sacred by
Oriental MunarChs


As is well known. what is termed a
white elephant is rarity, and | have
only seen one Of them duringthe whole
term of my residence in Burmah. 1t
was not really white either, but OF a
dirty vellowish color not at all hand
some, and probably the light color IS
caused by a species of leprosy. This
| kind is an albino among elephants,
The Burmese have gone to war with
the Siamese on several occasions for
the possession of white elephants, so
highly valued were they. Large re-
wards were formally given to any one
who discovered the whereabouts of a
white elephant. He could not attempt
to capture it for himself. it being a
reasonable offense to do so, but had
to inform the King where the animal
was. The capture was usually et-
fected with the aid of a handsome
tame female, who acted the part OF
decoy to perfection. She was sent to
90 and meet the white elephant and
attract his attention. She would pre-
tend she did not desire his protfered
caresses. and walk away in the direc-
ton of the inclosure made for his re-
ception, looking back, however, as II
to say: Follow me- He, of course,
does follow her and is lost, She leads
him into the incloswe, where he IS
soon secured by the hunters sent by
the King He is then led in state to
the palace of the King, where a hand
some and highly-decorated stable has
been built for his reception. He is
fed with sugar cane and fruit, and
adorned with golden ornaments.
The cause Of all this respect being
paid to the so-called white elephant
was the universal belief in metempsy-
Ghosts. or the transmigratiOn of souls,
prevalent in all the Oriental nations to
the east of Hindostan. The souls or
spirits of those who had achieved the
greatest good on earth are believed to
fill the bodies of white creatures. The
essence Of the Buddhas, the performers
of the greatest good of all, therefore
only inhabits the bodies of white ami
mails. such as the occasional white
monkey, swans and doves; the latter
time migrations when nearing the su-
preme heaven, Neibhan. being into
the forms of the higher white animals,
and a white elephant, from the rarity
of the occurrence, is the highest.
Thus, the King, by obtaining such an
animal, might possibly be the happy
and honored possessOr Of Buddha him
self. | was informed that the money
value of a white elephant was fluffy
1000 The King Of Siam has several
of these rare animals, who are te Il
great care Of, have retinue OF
servants to attend upon them, and are
accorded royal honors.
The story of how these Kings form
erly used them for the purpose OF rum
ing any of their subjects who were be-
coming too wealthy is well known.
One of these white elephants was sent
to the individual desired to be humbled,
as a valuable gift from the King. The
luckless nobleman dared not refuse the
present as he valued his life, but was
obliged to receive the animal, build a
special residence for him, and spend
large sums in keeping him in stately
comfort. The result was generally the
financial ruin of the person who had
received the fatal gift. This accom-
pIished, the King took possession again
of the elephant.-C0r san Francisco
Chronicle.