The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-09-13
TRAITS OF THEELEPHANT
ALLEGED DELUsIoNs CHERISHED BY
NATURAL HISTORY.
Their Intelligence Is Exaggerated,
Their Temper Uncertain and Their
Sobr3ety Easily Tempted.
New York Sun.


fond of animals the books without excep-
ton declared that the lion was the only
member of the cat family that bred in cap
tivity and she but rarely. while it was laid
down as infallible that none of the Asiatic
or African pachyderms, as the elephant
rhinoceros and hippopotamus, could be in
duced under the most favorable conditions
of prison life to reproduce their kind.
"As a fact any and all of the animals
referred to will reproduce almost as freely
when slaves to mans will as when free
they roam the jungles, fields or rivers of
their respective habitats. That they will
do so is shown in the fact that they have
done l reminded of the disillusions
of science in thinking of that giant of the
forest, the elephant and trying to recall
those l have seen that were born captives
in a foreign land. The number is very linn
| tied, but three or four in all. The reason
| for this however, one does not have far
to go in order to find. In India the creature
is used in the army and in civil life; in the
4 former for bearing munitions of war, and
in the latter for bearing burdens or per-
forming ordinary labors. such as laying
stones in building operations and in carry
| ing lumber and pling it. In India nothing
| could be possibly more undesirable than an
industry of elephant breeding. In that coun-
try, even, the keeping of an elephant is no
| small tax upon its owner, averaging, say,
about 81 a day. The animal grows but
slowly, and is utterly unfit for labor until
| it is twelve or fifteen years old. Even then
it can perform only about one-half the Ia
Dor of a fully matured brute. But baby
| elephant, after it's first year of life, will
cost for its maintenance about fifty cents
a day this cost increasing yearly until the
| maximum of 81 is attained. In other words.
| to rear a baby elephant costs about 1920,
to say nothing of the interest upon the in
| vestment and the risk of the creatures
death. This cost takes it TO its thirteenth
year only, and in all this time it is abso-
| Iutely unproductive.
Much easier is it and far less expensive
| for a community when in need of a few eie-
| plants 10 send out number of its most eX
| perienced hunters, drive herd of wild ones
| into corral, and capture the choicest
| males and females of the flock. A half doz-
| en- or more may thus be obtained within
| few days at merely nominal cost, say less
| than 500 for the whole number, and at
| comparatively little risk to the persons en-
| gagged. Before month elapses they are
| obedient to their masters and work as
This is Why baby elephant is regarded
| with rank disfavor in India. Indeed. there
| is excellent reason for saying that the adj
| vent of a youngster is esteemed such a ca
| lamity that baby elephanticide is freely
| justified This is not the case with the lion,
| tiger, leopard and other members of the
| cat family with the rhinoceros and hip
| popotarnus These are never used as beasts
| hibitfon in geological gardens, where their
| young never fail to have ever-abidfng at
| fractions to grown people as well as chill
| dren. So general has the breeding of lions
become that doubt If there can be found
| i'll captivity to-day in all America or Eu-
| rope single lion that was Uttered in it's
| native wilds The same may be said of
and a large tank. would seem to do better
| in prison than in the streams and rushes
| of the old world.
OTHER DISILLUSIONS.
| But there are many disillusions concern
| ing the elephant besides the one above
| noted. Science saw the creature pilng ium-
Der and planks in India. laying stone true
| to the plummet, saw it waltzing standing
| upon its head, drinking from a bowl with
the clown and firing off cannon in the cir
| Gus, and science said: Behold creature hu-
manlike in intelligence Thereupon science
this was nearly century ago-placed the
| elephant next to man in order of intelli-
| gence, and kept it there despite the evil
| dences OF the eye and the dictates of COM
| mon sense until d very few wears ago
| Those of us who are near the half-centI1rv
| marx and upward i'll life can easily recall
numbers Of stories from the school books
| illustrative OF the extraordinary mental
force of the great brute. How readily did
we accept as truth that fable of a tailors
which bore the insult and pain in Silence
| until it reached pool of very filthy water
returning with it. fairIV i1de a1ng ana ma
wretched little tailor. The chiefest obiec-
t tioits 70 tnls hiShiy interesting fiction is
that the trunk is the nose of the creature.
and that it could not possibly have held its
a ereatn su1nelently long to take this venge-
IN keeping with this yarn are those that
| reclte the extraordinary affection of the
creature for its master, and how time and
/ again 1t has risked its own life to save the
human beings it loved. The feats performed
| by the elephant in circus and General -,
| dustrial life are merely those of nimicrv a
rather low evidence of intelligence IF is
niUtorIoa aS inat human Idiots are exception
|
| in considering the claims of the dog and
| the horse for recognition. as first in, brute
| standing, their tricks are recited Vet these
| are regarded merely as corroboratiye evil
! when thrown upon their own resources are
s the best proofs of their Intellectual
that the elephant is a stupid animal but
| it is a fact that should be punctrated thai
1t is not nearly so intelligent as the dog or
morse, or opossum Except upon given oc-
casions the elephant is tractable obedient
| unc .oI1 and faithful and trust
| worthy worker But it only does what if
| has been commanded to do and if left to
| itself would become vagabond and loafer
1t has a fairly good memory, and once if
has been taught to do a thing is nor IilleI,,
to ever forget it. ''
Whether it has affection for its master
and those of his household is omen to nroof
Certainly it is frequently EMPLOYED as y
nurse for babies in India, and wbetber
guarding the little ones from predatorv
creatures of greater size. it is always faith
however
and still dislike its charge most positively
What it does here is, again. merely imita
tive, and being in most wholesome dread
of punishment, for the Indian master is
cruel in his treatment of the brute II NAV
be, moved solely by fear in the discharge
of duty. %
"One fact is most certain. and this is
that the elephant is the most uncertain
and treacherous of servants at given NJ
RODS. This is especially true of tho mali
which at times gets into most uncontroIIo
Bile fits of rage and will destroy Ieaner on
master if only it may find either al . dis
advantage. Instances are OF but foo com
mon occurrence in which such traeeGias
have taken place. Not SO MANY vear re a@o
old Romeo. fine elephant was taken o1,t
and shot while on exhibition in circus at
Chicago. This ugly brute appeared ~ he
utterly dead to kindness. He had killed no
fewer than five of his keepers and II waS
for the crime of numbering the last one Of
these, as well as for his previous bad char
acter, that he came to his untfmelv ena
This recurrence of uneontrollable passion
will always operate against the esfabIisb
ing of cordial relations between man and
the beast
Long and patient study of the elephant
in captivity has not led me no to enfbnsi
astic admiration for its inteligence Rut
a day or two ago | watched for some time
the unavailing effort of the male elephant
in Central Park to reach with his proboseis
peanut which lay just beyond the baI.s
of his cage. He could not quite reach II
and apparently he racking his brain