Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-12-18
ELEPHANTS HARD WORK
THEIR WONDERFUL LABOR IN THE
LUMBER YARDS OF BURMA, INDIA.
When Well Drilled the Huge Beasts
Cannot BE Bought Mt Any Price
Cost $1,000 Before They Are
Trained.
the Christian Advocate.

From the Christian Advocate.
On the whole, the greatest of the curl
osities which L saw in the East IS the
working elephant" of Burma. Every Wis
itor to Rangoon is told that the two great
sights there are the world renowned pa
CODA and TIE working elephants These
huge beasts are employed chiefly in getting
lumber out of the forests and in and about
sawmills. Rangoon is a very great center
of lumber interests and has several ex-
tensive sawmiIls. Through one of these I
was courteously shown about. with my
travelling companions. by the superintend-
ent. There were nine elephants at work.
They had been trained to all the work
you can conceive of there being need for
there. and they did it with the utmost skill
and expedition. OF course. a ''mahout'
sat on the back of each and with his naked
heels and a sharp iron prod and his voice
he made the elephant understand what he
wanted him to do. just as well as a father
could an intelligent boy.
Tusks Cut OF.
We saw them pull long slabs. two or
three at a time. out from the floors whers
the saw had dropped them. drag them long
distances and put them into piles. But
by far the most interesting part of their
work was the piiing up of great timbers
sawed square. from sixteen to twenty-five
inches on Il side, and thirty-five feet long.
weighing two or three tons each. Two ele-
plants generally worked at one timber.
and thGN DUt tfitTl INTO d IiTSe PIE WHICH,,
when completed. was twelve feet high:
They lifted them with their trunks and
tuSkS in combined action, and showed them
with the trunk and one tusk or with both
tusks. or with a foot, sometimes with the
trunk resting against the timber as a cush-
ion. against which they would push with
foot or tusk. None of their tusks reached
nearly to the ground, having been cut off
tand shaped by saving and filing to ft
them for their work.
When an elephant was commanded to
lift one end of such a large timber, he
would bend both knees, or get down on
one knee. until he could push his tusks
under the timber. then would put his tusks
under il and fall back with a great pull.
sometimes lifting one of his hind legs to
balance the weight until the timber was
raised and he could stand squarely on his
feet. He would then carry one end of the
BILE and drop the end of the timber on the
pile. Another elephant would then push
at the other end and presently lift 1T
with his tusk until more than half the
timber rested on the pile and then tilt it
up. and. raising his tusks and trunk as
high as he could reach, would push the
timber TO its resting place.
F~Ioundering in the Mud.
They also take the timbers. when want
ed. to the edge of the river. push them into
the water and fit them into RATS. They are
kept at this work about seven hours a day
and do IL lust the same in the rainy sea
son, when the whole yard is covered with
deep mud. in which they go hounderinS
about with mud halfway up their legs.
/ was told by the superintendent that
these elephants weigh about four tons
apjece. are about nine feet In height and
cost. before they are trained. $3.50 and
that when well trained they cannot be
bought at any price. our friends who were
present that day could find no words fully
10 EXPRESS their wonder at the marvellous
sagacity and skill of the huge, ungainly
beasts.
When some one. the other day. suggest
cd TO Senator Perkins. of California, that
s2n 80 for the Philippines would be al
most 81 a head for the inhabitants. he
sailor. well. / can remember the time
when 7 would have paid Sl.o1o a head FOR
those people-if somebody had killed them.
We were lying becalmed." he continued,
off one of the islands of the group, when
three junks. manned by Malay pirates.
pulled off from the shore some five or
Six miles away. While we waited the eX-
pected attack the wind came and filed our