The record-union., 1897-12-07
STORIES OF ELEPHANTS.
Some of the Remarkable Things
Done by Them.


Done by Them.
OF their marvellous mathematic pre-
cision and ability TO count. no doubt
can exist in the mind IF any one who
have ever visited Mandalay, in Upper
Burmah. There large forests of teak
are cultivated by the Government for
building purposes, and the squared TIM
bers are placed and secured one above
another till raft is formed TO float
down the Irrawaddy for conveyance to
various stations. Elephants do the
whole of this work. They convey the
enormous logs down to the waters edge
and pile them one upon another, both
lengthwise and across, till a perfect
cube is formed. They show an intelli-
gence and interest in their work that
seems human. as any eyewitness can
affirm who has watched an elephant at
his loading, and then has seen him
move few PAGES to one side, in order
to judge of the effects of his work.
If the appearance of the heap is not
quite symmetrical two elephants force
the logs one way or the other With
their trunks till they get the desired re-
suit, and the perfect evenness and SYM
metry of the finished cube is astonish-
ing. They never miscaIculate the num-
Der required for each cube, and never
overweight it. In 1870 a near relative
OF mine was head of the Indian militia
ry police, and his winter circuit COM
pr1sed the Looshai country and hill
tracts. Herds of wild elephants
abounded in the district, which contain
ed two important Keddahs.
The greater part of our tour was
made by water; and once we were de-
tanned several days in the bed of a
river, through the insufficiency Of wa
ter for the draft of our boats. Some
of them lay high and dry but the Of
fce boat, which consisted of single
cabin with large doors fore and aft,
was in the stream. My friend sat in
his cabin. absorbed in official CORE
spondence, while we explored the
shores. Suddenly looking up, he was
dismayed to find herd of about forty
wild elephants, headed by a vicious
looking leader. gazing steadily at the
beat and it's solitary occupant Stout
soldier as he was, he watched the lead
er with considerable trepidation, for on
his action depended that to be adopted
by the herd. To his immense relief,
after trumpet or two, the leader turn
ed disdainfully and crossed the stream.
He breathed a sigh of relief. and had
forgotten his lucky escape in the alb
sorption of work-when, swishi through
the cabin came dash after dash of wa
ter. On the opposite side stood the
leader and his herd with well-filled
trunks. One after the other admins
tered the shower bath and then re-
treated, leaving my friend thoroughly
ducked and very rueful over the damp
condition of his Government papers and
surroundings, but thankful for his es-
cape from a worse fate than a wetting.
The Prime Minister of Nepal and the
court We're at that time in holy Hard
war in order to bathe in the sacred
GaEges, and perform their pilgrimage
to the "Hur Ki Pyree," or steps to
heaven" and for their benefit the ele-
plants We're made to go in procession
through the sacred town.
Can any child picture a procession of
$50 tame elephants in single file, head
ed by Bill, and with Narain bringing
up the rear? 1t was truly grand
sight. They covered a mile and a quar-
ter of road, and were as orderly as SOL
u4SIS III d ISSilliCht.
the town they marched, each beast in
its place, in no way disconnected by the
populace or by the screaming children,
who joined in singing their nursery
rhymes at each turn of the road. They
think that Guneshin, the god of wis
dom, has his existence in an elephants
body. and so they venerate the colos
sal beast immensely. Their little
voices, pitched at the highest, send out
the couplet:
Elephant, oh elephant, give us hair of
your tall
Or, instead thereof, sword of goldi
It was a quaint, queer sight! The
old town with its mosques and nina
rets; the sacred stairs of Vishnu,"
leading down to the blue waters edge;
the priests on the steps in gay sulphur
colored garments, feeding the sacred
fish, while the sacred monkeys were
swarming everywhere, swinging from
branch to branch of the trees, feeding
on the housetops and screaming and
playing. Below marched undiSturbed
the imposing procession of elephants,
all bent on obedience, and vending their
way, regardless of all distractions
Mrs. Marie A. Mills in ST. Nicholas.