Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1896-03-12
FIcTIoNs ABOUT ELEPHANTS.
Prof Iockhart Discourses on Popular 1R-
fors About These Animate

FICTIoNs ABOUT ELEPHANTS.
Prof I.ockhart Discoursss on Popular ~
rors About These Animals-
Errcrs and extruvagances-Orien
classic, medieval and modern supersti-
tion-cluster about my lord the ele-
phsnt," as he is called in India There
Ia hardly an animal about which 30
many fictions exist or which Ii so little
understood.
The popular opinion Is that the ele-'
phant's memory Is as retentive a.
mans. Stories are constantly floating
about to this effect. The last one met
with asserted that an elephant had
killed a man who, 20 years before, when
. small boy, had given him a piece of to-
bacco, or had in some way maltreated
him. OF course this story Is preposter-
Gus. In the first place most elephants
love tobacco, and instead of killing q
man for giving him q chew, he would be
most likely to trumpet welcome and
earess him every time he presented him
self. But as to his remembering any
body for 20 years or 20 months even, II
animal whose memory is 50 capricious-
An equally unaccountable fiction Il
that there recurs a period each year
when a gland swells on each side OF the
animals head about six inches back OF
the eyes, and which emits a watery dis
charge Of unpleasant odor. At such
times the elephant is supposed to be
very dangerous creature AS never
knew an elephant to be especially disa-
Rreeable when he had cold In his head,
I am inclined to class this with the
other ridiculous and absurd yarns %
often repeated.
It is commonly supposed that the
elephant is unable to give definite ex-
preston to his feelings. This is mis-
take. He always expresses his pleasure
in one way, by blowing through his
trunk. The noise made is exceedingly
shrill. When in want, he expresses II
In q low note made by the mouth, and
when In anger or when in revengeful
mood, he makes q terrific roar with his
throat, which sounds like distant thun-
der. He never mixes these sounds;
they always stand for definite states Of
feeling, and are as well understood by
the trainer as are the deep, slow-drawn
and far resounding snores heard at
midnight in the elephants stable.
The elephants wisdom has SO often
been extolled that "sagacious as an ele-
phant' has passed into an axiom. In
point of fact IN animal will cross a rot
ten bridge fuil of fholesifyou wi.lpermit
him to do so Even in his wild state,
though possessed of a proboscis which
is capable of guarding it against such
dangers, the elephant readily falls into
pits dug to receive 1t, which are only
covered with few sticks and leaves.
It's fellows make no effort in general
to assist the fallen, as they might easily
do by kicking in the earth around the
edge, but fly in terror 1t commonly
happens that young elephant tumbles
into n pit. near which its mother viii
remain until the hunters come, without
doing anything to help it not even
feeding it by throwing in few branch
es. Whole herds of elephants are led
into Enclosures which they could break
through as easily as if they were made
Of cornstalxs, and which no other ani-
NAL would enter; and single ones are
caught by their hind legs being tied to-
gether by men under cover of tame ele-
plants. Animals that happen to escape
are captured again without trouble;
even experience will not bring them
wisdom. / do not think that traduce
the elephant when I say that it IL. in
many things. stupid animal.
Regarding an elephant being unable
to express with his countenance feel
ings of affection, fear, desire, think
all those who have seen Boney simulate
drunkenness at Proctor's pleasure pal
ace, in the pantomime, From Cafe to
Police Station" will readily acknowl-
edge this error. It is really wonderful
how much facial expression an ele-
phant really has-with face skeleton
SO imperfect; that Is to say, its nasal
bones are rudimentary. while the
mouth, all of the lower half of the face,
is concealed beneath great muscles at
tached TO the base of the trunk. But in
spite of that, and with his ears un-
cooked and his proboscis pendant, an
elephants countenance is full Of char
acter.
The truth about the elephant Is that,
treated kindly and considerably, he il
a great, good-natured beast, who. for
his master, will perform any possibele
labor or feat. They are very affection
ate and exceedingly jealous OF atten-
tions from their master. There are
"rogue" elephants, of course, but they
are seldom met with except in large
herds, and where attendants do not un-
derstand how to treat the brutes in
their charge.-N. Y. Journal.